^:^^2<_ 


MEMeRIES 


OF 


ViLLiAM  N.  Sherman 


BY    HJS    NEPHEW 


REV.   HARRIS    R.   GREENE 


Press  ot  J.J.  Little  &  Co. 
Astor  Place,  New  York. 


SHU? 


Born  Feb.  19,  1809. 
Died  March  2,  1882. 


li  Jaitl)ful  £ifc. 


B 


E  thou   Faithful  unto   Death,  and    I 
will  ofive  thee  a  Crown  of  Life." 


INTRODUCTION. 


IFFERENT  nations  have  different  stan- 
dards of  human  excellence.  In  the  view 
of  the  ancients,  and,  at  the  present  time,  in 
the  view  of  uncivilized  races,  the  man  to  be  honored 
is  the  man  of  physical  strength  and  power.  He  who 
has  the  broadest  shoulders  ;  he  who  stands  the  tall- 
est, and  can  with  the  greatest  vigor  draw  the  bow — 
he  is  the  man  to  be  esteemed  ;  he  is  the  hero. 

Indeed,  this  criterion  of  excellence  has  prevailed 
more  or  less  among  civilized  nations. 

We  are  told  that  "  Saul  was  a  choice  young  man 
and  a  goodly  ;  and  there  was  not  among  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  2.  goodlier  person  than  he ;  from  his 
shoulders  and  upward  he  zvas  higJier  than  any  of  the 
peopled 

It  was  no  small  recommendation  to  Saul  in  the 
view  of  his  countrymen  with  reference  to  the  posi- 
tion of  power  he  was  to  occupy  that  he  was  Jicad 
and  shoulders  taller  than  any  other  n-jan. 

Among  nations  representing  a  higher  type  of  civ- 
ilization and  refinement,  the  standard  of  excellence 
becomes  one  of  mental  power,  intellectnal  genius. 
Such,  in  the  main,  is  the  standard  in  all  civilized  and 
enlightened  countries  to-day.  The  great  man  in 
Europe  to-day  is  the  man  who  is  great  in  the  mili- 
tary, the  scientific,  the  literary,  or  the  aesthetic  world. 


Tlie  great  general,  the  great  scientific  discoverer,  the 
great  poet  or  historian,  the  great  painter,  sculptor, 
or  actor,  he  is  now,  throughout  Christendom,  the  man 
of  fame,  the  man  who  is  honored  and  worshipped, 
the  man  whose  biography  is  sought  and  read — these 
are  the  kinds  of  men  who  are  immortalized  ;  these 
the  men  whose  ashes  are  permitted  a  place  in  West- 
minster Abbey. 

But  the  time  is  certainly  coming  when  there  will 
prevail  still  another  standard  of  excellence.  The 
time  is  coming,  and  is  not  far  distant,  when  not 
physical  stature  and  physical  prowess,  when  not  in- 
tellectual power  and  intellectual  demonstration  in 
whatev^er  form,  but  when  spiritual  power  and  spirit- 
ual development  and  demonstration  shall  constitute 
and  characterize  the  man  who  shall  be  called  great. 
The  truly  great  man  is  the  man  who  is  great  in  con- 
formity with  the  principles  of  the  New  Testament, 
the  man  who  is  developed  and  complete  in  the 
realm  of  the  spiritual  as  well  as  in  the  realm  of  the 
mental  ;  and  this  kind  of  greatness  will,  by  and  by, 
when  the  world  becomes  better,  find  full  recognition, 
even  as  now  it  finds  partial  recognition  in  Christian 
lands. 

The  life  which  we  are  about  to  notice  briefly  was, 
like  many  other  lives  of  merit  and  value,  quiet  and 
unobtrusive.  It  made  no  figure  in  the  command 
of  armies  ;  it  was  not  conspicuous  in  the  fields 
of  science,  of  art,  or  of  literature  ;  it  was  not  oreat 
as  men  count  greatness  ;  but,  notwithstanding  all 
this,  it  had  in  it  elements  of  mental  vigor,  and  espe- 


cially  elements  of  moral  and  spiritual  power  and 
beauty,  which  makes  it,  in  these  respects  at  least,  a 
life  well  worthy  to  contemplate. 

The  life  whose  memoirs  are  here  sketched  ex- 
hibited, in  some  measure  at  least,  in  the  lines  above 
indicated,  noble  and  worthy  qualities  of  heart  and 
soul.  To  bring  these  more  freshly  to  the  memory 
of  friends  and  acquaintances  is  the  object  of  these 
brief  memoirs. 


BIRTH  AND  FAMILY. 

ILLIAM  NORTH  UP  SHERMAN  was 
born  in  North  Kingston,  R.  I.,  February 
19,  1809.  His  father  was  Nathaniel  Sher- 
man, also  of  North  Kingston.  He  was  a  member 
of  that  family  of  Shermans  now  represented  so 
conspicuously  by  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman,  who  in  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  was  second  in  rank  only  to 
Gen.  U.  S.  Grant  ;  by  Senator  Sherman  of  Ohio,  one 
of  the  ablest  men  we  have  now  in  Congress  ;  by 
Senator  Hoar  of  Massachusetts,  probably  the  most 
influential  man  to-day  in  the  United  States  Senate  ; 
by  William  M.  Evarts  of  New  York,  probably  the 
strongest  advocate  at  the  bar  in  the  metropolis, 
and  at  present  a  man  of  power  in  Congress  ;  and 
by  Hon.  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  President  of  the 
New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River  Railroad. 

Sherman  Coat  of  Arms. — Complicated  but  very 
handsome. 

Arms. — Sherman  (London  and  Devonshire,  de- 
scended from  the  Shermans  of  Yaxley,  County  Suf- 
folk). When  displa)'ed  or  painted,  the  whole 
groundwork  of  the  shield  is  gold  color,  with  a  lion 
rampant  in  the  centre.  The  lion  is  black  (an  un- 
usual color  for  a  lion),  and  is  surrounded  by  three 
green  oak  leaves.      On  its  shoulder  rests  a  ring. 


lO 


CrcsL — A  sea  lion  sejant  (or  sittinor)  on  a  shield 
of  two  colors  divided  by  a  perpendicular  line  ;  one 
side  is  gold  color,  the  other  siKcr  color.  This  sea 
lion  has  black  spots  upon  it,  and  has  fins  of  gold  ; 
the  shoulder  is  a  crescent  moon.  Motto  :  Conquer 
death  by  virtue. 

The  name  of  Sherman  is  by  no  means  a  common 
one  in  England,  though  it  is  an  ancient,  highl)-  re- 
spected, and  honored  one.  Sir  Henry  Sherman 
was  one  of  the  executors  of  the  will  of  Lord  Stan- 
ley, Earl  of  Derby,  County  of  Lancaster,  dated  May 
23,  1521.  William  Sherman,  Esq.,  purchased 
Knightston  in  the  time  of  Henr)-  VIIL  A  monu- 
ment to  William  Sherman  is  in  Ottery,  St.  Mary, 
erected  in  1542. 

The  pedigree  of  the  Sherman  famil)'  is  obtained 
from  Davy's  manuscript  collection  relating  to  the 
County  of  Suffolk  ( England),  deposited  in  the  British 
Museum.* 

Mr.  Sherman's  mother  was  Elizabeth  Northup.  the 
sister  of  Rev.  William  Northup,  for  half  a  century  one 
of  the  most  celebrated  preachers  in  Southern  Rhode 
Island.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  in  North  Kingston,  and  was  its  esteemed  and 
honored  pastor  for  a  period  of  fifty- nine  years.  Few 
men,  in  any  country,  in  any  denomination,  at  any 
period,  ha\-e  held  a  pastorate  so  long.  He  was  a  man 
of  large  and  commanding  presence,  as  he  was  a  man 

*  For  these  facts  I  am  indebted  to  William  Cothren,  Esq..  of  Woodbury, 
Conn.,  who  has  written  a  history  of  the  .Sherman  family  in  England  and 
America. 


1 1 


of  capacious  and  powerful  mind.  He  was  truly  a 
moral  and  spiritual  patriarch  among  the  prophets  of 
Israel.  The  church  under  his  grand  gospel  min- 
istry grew  in  strength  and  numbers  through  all 
these  long  years  of  his  pastorate,  enjoying  in  the 
course  of  them,  in  addition  to  their  ordinary  ac- 
cessions constantly  occurring,  six  revivals  of  great 
power. 

Mr.  Northup  preached  not  science,  not  phi- 
losophy, and  not  literature,  but  the  simple  Gospel  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  "  the  people  heard  him 
gladly."  He  was  a  truly  converted  xwa.x\,  and  he  spoke 
"  as  the  Holy  Spirit  gave  him  utterance."  It  is  an 
interesting  fact  in  his  history  that  his  first  religious 
impressions  were  received  from  a  slave  in  his  father's 
family.  Religion  is  the  same  wonderful  thing  in  the 
hearts  of  all  men,  of  whatever  color,  rank,  or  con- 
dition. Mr.  Northup  received  through  and  from  a 
poor  black  domestic  that  glorious  spiritual  energy 
and  life  which  transformed  his  entire  nature,  and 
made  him  that  great  apostle  of  God  he  afterwards 
became. 

After  this  wonderfully  long  and  successful  pastor- 
ate, he  was  gathered  to  his  fathers  at  the  ripe  old  age 
of  seventy-nine,  full  of  Christian  graces,  and  full  of 
honors,  and  meet  for  the  Heavenly  Kingdom.  He 
commenced  his  ministry  at  twenty,  and  founded  the 
church  above  referred  to  only  two  years  later. 

We  have  made  this  somewhat  detailed  reference 
to  this  celebrated  man,  for  two  or  three  special 
reasons  :  first,  because  he  was  the  ever  revered  and 


1  2 


eneratcd  iiaiiiL'sakc;  of  Mr.  Sherman  ;  sccoiul,  be- 
cause he  exerted  ever  a  ver)'  decided  iiitliuMice  over 
Mr.  Sherman,  not  onlx'  lUn-iiiL;"  the  boyhood  and 
)oiith  of  the  hitter,  but,  as  the  writer  believes, 
throughout  his  hfe  ;  and  third,  because  of  one  or  two 
facts  to  be  noted  hereafter,  which  will  be  better 
understood  and  appreciated  by  this  reference. 

It  will  be  seen,  then,  that  Mr.  Sherman  was 
descended  from  an  ancestry  which  represented  some 
of  the  best  blood  in  New  England. 

Education. — Nathaniel    Sherman,  the   father   of 
William  N.  Sherman,  was  a  well-to-do  New  Engrland 
farmer.     The  country  schools  in  his  time — seventy' 
years   a^jo — were   not  what   they  are  now.     Three 
months  in  the  winter,  and  that  usually  under  an  in- 
different teacher,   was  all  the  "  schooling  "  the  best 
privileged    youth    of  those   da)'s   ever    received   at 
home.     These  limited  educational  privileges  did  not 
satisfy  the  aspiring  mind  of  young  William.     At  an 
early  age,   therefore,   he  was  sent  to  the  Kingston 
Hill   Academy,   where    the  best  of  instruction   was 
given,  in  the  higher  as  well  as  the  common   iLngiish 
branches.      Subsequently    he    was    sent    to   another 
private  school. 

In  these  schools  he  evidently  made  the  most  of 
his  now  ample  privileges,  turning  to  good  account 
every  help  to  education  that  canu!  in  his  wa)-. 
The  writer  has  examined  with  great  pleasure  and  in- 
terest some  of  his  school  work  of  this  time  in  the 
form  of  a  complete  transcript  of  the  arithmetic  he 
then  used,  together  with  a  full  and  complete  solution 


of  all  the  problems  given  therein.  The  beauty  of 
the  penmanship,  the  order  and  neatness  of  the  work, 
the  absolute  excellence  of  the  whole,  from  beginning 
to  end,  was  very  greatly  to  the  credit  of  the  pupil. 
Little  things  indicate  character  as  truly  as  great 
things.  The  work  of  the  child  forecasts  the  work  of 
the  man.  Here  at  once  was  an  earnest  of  that  or- 
der, system,  care,  neatness,  and  accuracy  which 
characterized  the  journalist  in  his  grander  work  in 
after  years,  and  which,  indeed,  was  so  conspicuous 
in  all  that  he  undertook  in  whatever  department  of 
effort — physical,  mental,  or  religious — in  later  life. 

Educational  institutions  as  such  have  no  power,  in 
themselves,  to  make  the  youths  who  are  privileged 
to  attend   them  good  and  noble   men.      Like   many 
other  things,  thoroughly  good  in  themselves  consid- 
ered, they  may  become  a  saver  of  life  unto  life,  or  ot 
death   unto    death.     The  academ)-,  like  the  college, 
either   helps    or    harms,  according    as    the    student 
makes  it  a  field  for  appropriating  the  good — literary, 
social,  moral,  and  religious — that  it  yields  ;  or,  on  the 
other  hand,  makes  it  a  place  where,  b)-  associating 
with   the    low  and   the   base,    he    absorbs   only    the 
vilest  and  basest  moral  and  spiritual  influences,  and 
thus  actually  learning  little  or  nothing  of  good,  con- 
tracts life-lono-  habits  of  laziness,  license,  and  vice. 
So  everything,  in  fact,  in  nature,  in  society,  and  in 
life  becomes  a  blessing  or  a  banc  according  as  men's 
native  bent  and  affinities  lead  them  to  appropriate 
the  good  or  to  imbibe  the  evil. 

Evidently  Mr.  Sherman   found  in  the  educational 


H 

and  litcrar)'  prixilcijcs  ot  the  Kiiv^sLon  Acadmiy  aiul 
the  other  private  school  followinij'  the  same,  the 
means  of  developiiiL;'  and  iinloKhiiL;  his  mental,  moral 
and  religious  powers.  Evidently  his  hi^ii-toned 
nature  became  here  a  grand  absorbent  of  all  that 
was  useful,  noble,  and  good,  while  it  was  utterl\-  irre- 
sponsive to  temptations  and  influences  unhallowed 
and  base. 

A  Teacher. — After  leaving  the  Academy.  Mr. 
Sherman  for  some  years  taught  in  the  district  schools 
in  different  parts  of  Washington  County.  We  may 
be  sure,  from  what  we  know  ot  him  in  later  life, 
that  he  had  a  model  school  for  tliose  days.  As  is* 
the  man,  so  is  the  school.  Indeed,  the  man  /s  the 
school.  A  man  fond  of  order  and  system  will  have 
an  orderly  and  systematic  school.  Such  was  he. 
So  a  man  of  refinement,  of  sensitive  conscience,  of  a 
keen  sense  of  justice,  will  impress  all  these  beautiful 
sentiments  more  or  less  upon  his  pupils.  Such  a 
man  was  he.  In  his  school,  therefore,  there  must 
have  been  daily  evidence  of  the  influence  upon  his 
pupils  of  these  noble  jjrinciples.  Above  all,  a  man 
of  Christian  character  will  unconsciously  induce  in 
all  around  him,  and  especially  the  young,  feelings 
and  sentiments  of  reverence  and  devotion.  Such  a 
man  was  he,  and  his  school,  therefore,  must  have  ielt 
his  power  in  this  direction.  Add  to  all  this  careful, 
correct,  and  thorough  and  methodical  instruction, 
and  you  have  the  elements  of  all  excellence  in  a 
school. 

Learns  Bl'siness  Life. — But  the  vocation  of  the 


15 

teacher,  especially  in  a  sphere  so  circumscribed, 
promised  little,  either  of  money  or  of  emolument, 
sixty  years  ago.  Mr.  Sherman,  therefore,  decided 
upon  some  other  calling  in  life.  Like  the  great  ma- 
jority of  men,  he  did  not  yet  know  for  what  busi- 
ness or  profession  he  was  best  fitted.  This  he  must 
learn  by  slow  experience,  under  the  revealing  power 
of  the  chaneine  circumstances  of  life.  For  a  time, 
with  reference  to  a  future  business  life,  he  became  a 
clerk  in  a  store  in  Newport,  R.  I.  Afterwards  he 
removed  to  Southbridge,  Mass.,  and  re-engaged  in 
the  same  kind  of  business.  Here  it  was  that  his 
mind  began  to  assert  itself,  and  to  whisi)er  to  him 
that  he  could  do  better  work  than  to  pore  over  ac- 
count books  and  handle  the  yardstick.  He  began 
to  contribute  occasional  articles  to  the  columns  of 
newspapers  published  in  that  vicinity.  Becoming 
encouraged  by  the  reception  which  these  maiden 
productions  received,  he  began  to  plan  for  a  larger 
and  better  field  in  this  line  of  effort. 

The  "Ladies'  Mirror." — In  connection  with  Mr. 
•George  \V.  H.  Fiske,  he  commenced  the  publication 
of  the  Ladies  Mirror,  a  literary  paper  issued  every 
other  Saturday.  The  circulation  soon  attained  to  the 
figure  of  about  one  thousand  copies — a  most  flat- 
tering success,  considering  the  comparative  sparse- 
jiess  of  the  population  in  that  part  of  the  country. 
This  enterprise  he  followed  up  most  successfirlly  lor 
.about  four  years,  when  he  thought  he  could  see 
something  still  better  ahead. 

Removal  tu  Woonsockei". — The  city  of  W'oon- 


i6 


sockt't  was  c\'cn  then  a  most  tloiirishing-  town.  Mr. 
Sherman  believed  that  this  thrivini^  manufactur- 
ing" village  promised  success  in  the  line  ot  jour- 
nalism in  the  near  future.  .  Accordingly  in  the 
year  1833  he  l)Ought,  at  an  assignee's  sale,  the  print- 
ing press  on  which  the  Ladies  Mirror  had  been 
previously  printed.  Loading  the  same  with  its 
conijilement  of  type  and  forms  on  a  large  team 
wagon,  he  started  in  person  lor  W'oonsocket.  Ar- 
rived there,  he  immediately  secured  a  room  for  an 
office,  and  on  the  5th  of  October,  1833,  published 
the  first  number  of  his  new  paper. 

Thk  "  WuoNsocKET  P.\  iKioT." — It  required  some 
business  courage  to  start  a  weekly  paper  in  the  little 
town  of  W'oonsocket,  as  it  was  more  than  fifty  years 
dofo.  But  Mr.  Sherman  had  that  virtue  which 
always  and  ever\\vhere  is  essential  to  success,  viz.  : 
faith  i)i  liivisclf.  He  felt  that  he  could  make  this 
new  enterprise  a  success.  He  had  already  proved  to 
himself,  in  his  brief  experience  at  journalism  in  South - 
bridge,  that  he  could  serve  up,  once  a  week  at  least, 
to  the  people  of  Woonsocket  and  \icinity,  the  news 
of  the  day,  and  also  that  kind  of  intellectual  rejjast 
which  they  would  appreciate  and  enjoy.  In  this 
he  was  not  deceived.  His  paper  soon  became  very 
popular  ;  the  subscription  list  became  at  once  promis- 
ing, and  constantly  increased.  The  Woonsocket  Pa- 
triot soon  became  an  organ  of  influence  and  of  power, 
and  that  not  only  in  the  village  itself,  but  far  out  into 
the  adjoining  counties,  country,  and  State.  For 
more  than  fift\-  \ears,  and  down  to  the   present  time. 


17 

this  paper  has  been  one  of  the  leading  journals  of 
the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  and  has  exerted  an  in- 
fluence upon  morals,  politics,  and  religion  of  untold 
value.  Starting  as  a  six-column,  four-page  paper, 
it  soon  grew  into  an  eight-page  paper,  and  circulated 
more  or  less  throughout  the  State,  and  to  some  ex- 
tent in  adjoining  States. 

Mr.  Noah  I.  Arnold,  an  old  resident  of  Rhode 
Island,  in  an  article  in  the  Patriot,  copied  from  a 
Providence  paper  on  "  Woonsocket  Reminiscences," 
says  :  "  Returning  my  thoughts  again  to  those  days 
of  forty  years  ago,  I  am  not  forgetful  of  the  fact  that 
the  Woonsocket  Patriot  was  then  published,  and  at 
that  time  enjoyed  the  proud  distinction  that  it  does 
now,  and,  I  trust,  will  for  many  years  to  come,  of  being 
one  of  the  ablest  of  New  England  newspaper sT 

Principle  vs.  Profit. — It  is  almost  needless  to 
say  that  this  paper,  while  under  the  control  of  Mr. 
Sherman,  was  conducted  upon  the  highest  principles 
of  justice,  morality,  and  Christianity.  As  editor  and 
proprietor,  Mr.  Sherman  never  permitted  apparent 
immediate  pecuniary  interest  to  interfere  with  the 
claims  of  progress,  reform,  and  religion. 

"  From  one  learn  all."  In  its  early  days  the 
course  of  the  editor,  in  advocating  the  cause  of 
temperance,  became  to  quite  a  number  of  his  sub- 
scribers a  ground  of  offence.  Accordingly,  several  at 
once  sent  in  their  names,  and  demanded  that^their 
paper  be  stopped  forthwith.  Quite  probably  these 
supporters  of  the  rum  traffic  supposed,  as  small  men 
are  very  apt  to  believe,  that  their  influence  thus  ex- 


iS 


ertccl  would  be  potent  in  crippling-,  if  it  tlid  not  re- 
sult in  utterly  destroying,  this  daring-  sheet. 

It  is  a  matter  of  infniite  satisfaction  to  ever\'  true 
and  good  man  in  this  world  that  amid  all  the 
wickedness,  corruption,  and  ini(|uity  of  men  there  is 
always  a  large  and  powerful  leavening  of  noble, 
moral,  and  even  reliijious  sentiment  left.  Mr.  Sher- 
man,  not  knowing  how  great  the  defection  might  be 
in  the  future,  should  he  still  continue  his  course  of 
hostility  towards  the  rum  power,  nevertheless  still 
pursued  his  way  fearlessly,  and  regardless  of  con- 
sequences. The  unexpected  result  was  that  more 
than  two  hundred  new  subscribers  were  soon  added 
to  his  list. 

All  men  have  a  conscience  ;  all  men  love  the 
right,  the  true  and  the  good,  and  hate  the  iniquitous, 
the  false  and  the  bad  ;  and  as  a  rule,  all  men,  when 
vice  is  v\o\.  profitable  to  themselves,  throw  the  weight 
of  their  influence  on  the  side  of  virtue  and  goodness. 
By  its  course  of  unflinching  and  steadfast  advocacy  of 
everything  good  and  noble  in  reform,  the  Patriot 
strengthened  constantly  its  hold  upon  the  hearts  of 
the  community.  It  thus  soon  became  known  and 
recognized  as  a  paper  of  high  and  noble  aims  and 
purposes. 

Mr.  Sherman  continued  to  publish  this  paper  for 
some  nine  or  ten  years,  witli  ever-widening  influence 
and  ever-increasing  circulation. 

Job  Printing. — As  this  was  the  only  printing 
office  in  an  enterprising  and  growing  community, 
it  soon    became    largely  patronized    for  job  work. 


19 

The  proprietor  had  never  served  an  apprentice- 
ship at  the  business  of  job  printing.  But  where  there 
is  a  will  there  is  always  a  way.  He  immediately  set  to 
work  setting  type,  locking  up  forms,  and  working  off 
his  sheets  by  the  power  of  a  strong  hand  and  a  mus- 
cular arm.  In  a  short  time  he  made  himself  familiar 
with  all  the  departments  of  work  needful  in  this  line, 
and  was  thus  enabled  to  superintend  and  control 
the  whole  business,  from  the  preparation  of  the 
manuscript  to  the  carefully-printed  page. 

It  was  in  this  office  that  his  nephew,  the  late 
Col.  A.  Crawford  Greene,  of  Providence  ;  John  S. 
Sibley,  of  Pawtucket,  and  S.  S.  Foss,  of  Woonsocket, 
all  of  whom  afterwards  made  their  mark  in  the  busi- 
ness world,  were  initiated  into  the  "mystic"  art. 
The  first  of  the  above,  Col.  A.  C.  Greene,  was  for 
more  than  thirty  years  a  leading  newspaper  publisher, 
and  probably  the  largest  job  printer  in  the  State.  Mr. 
Sibley  was  for  manyyears,  in  company  with  another, 
the  publisher  of  The  Gazette  and  Chronicle  in  Paw- 
tucket, and  Mr.  Foss  succeeded  Mr.  Sherman  in  the 
proprietorship  of  The  Patriot,  which  he  continued 
to  publish  wiih  marked  ability  for  about  fort)'  years. 
Marriage. — As  before  stated,  Mr.  Slierman  lo- 
cated in  Woonsocket  in  the  year  1833.  In  1834  he 
married  Miss  Mary  M.  Bliss,  of  Brimfield,  Mass..  in 
whom  he  found  an  educated,  cultivated,  and  accom- 
plished lady,  in  every  way  worth)-  to  become  his 
lifelong  partner. 

Miss  Bliss  was  the  daughter  of  Ichabod  and   Re- 
becca Holbrook  Bliss.     The  Bliss  family  represented 


20 


an  ancestry  of  honor  and  repute.  The  ancestral 
coat  of  arms  consisted  of  a  crest,  representing  an  arm 
uphfted,  with  the  liand  grasping  a  bundle  of  arrows. 
(This  device  was  commemorative  of  an  act  of  prow- 
ess in  the  early  history  of  the  family). 

Upon  the  shield  beneath  was  a  bend  vaire  (he 
bearetli  sable)  between  two  fleur-de-lis.  The  motto 
of  this  lieraldic  or  escutcheon  emblem  was  "  Semper 
Sursuni  " — "Ever  Upward." 

Miss  Bliss's  mother's  name  was  Rebecca  Choate 
Holbrook,  the  name  CJioate  representing  thus  one 
branch  of  her  family  on  her  mother's  side.  Mrs.  Sher- 
man has  to  this  da)'  in  her  possession  a  large  pewter 
platter  (the  silver  of  colonial  days)  upon  which  is 
engraven  the  "  Coat  of  Arms  "  of  the  Choate  family 
(an  exact  counterpart  of  this  heraldic  device  can  be 
seen  under  the  head  of  "  Crest  "  in  Webster's  Dic- 
tionary) used  more  than  a  century  ago,  perhaps 
two  centuries,  for  this  platter  belonged  to  her  grand- 
mother, and  her  motlier  would  have  been  one  hun- 
dred and  eleven  years  old  if  she  had  lived  until  the 
present  time.  She  was  a  sister  of  Judge  Holbrook 
of  Connecticut,  and  a  cousin  of  Rufus  Choate,  the 
eminent  lawyer  of  Boston.  Her  grandmother,  Re- 
becca Choate,  of  Roxbury,  Mass.,  was  married  De- 
cember 13,  1758,  to  John  Holbrook  of  Pomfret, 
Conn.,  afterward  Deacon  Holbrook  of  the  Congre- 
gational Church  there.  This  platter  bears  the  in- 
itials of  her  maiden  name,  "  R  "  being  engraved 
at  the  left  of  the  crest,  and  "C"  at  the  right. 
The  motto  is  "  Fortune  De  Guerre."     It  must  have 


21 


become  her  property  at  the  time  she  was  a  bride,  or 
it  belonf^ed  to  some  ancestor  of  the  same  name, 
and  has  been  handed  down  as  a  family  heirloom. 
What  romantic  associations  do  we  fancy  belonging 
to  an  article  so  ancient,  whose  historical  life  may  ex- 
tend to  aofes  more  remote  than  we  even  dream,  but 
whose  unknown  antiquity  is  only  an  added  charm  to 
its  value ! 

The  Holbrook  name  appears  frequently  in  history 
in  connection  with  various  public  services.  That 
they  were  an  ancient  family  we  find  from  a  pe- 
rusal of  various  records.  I  quote  from  one  writer  : 
"  A  beautiful  trianofular  farm  borderinor  on  the  Mash- 
amoquet  was  purchased  by  John  Holbrook,  Sr., 
whose  son,  Ebenezer  (Deacon  John  Holbrook's 
father),  took  possession  of  it  in  17 19.  Holbrook's 
four  hundred  acres  cost  him  as  many  pounds.  One 
other  farm  purchased  at  that  time  cost  more  per  acre, 
the  others  less,  showing  that  the  land  and  location 
were  considered  desirable.  The  old  homestead 
(tradition  says  it  was  the  first  two-story  house  in 
town)  is  still  standing,  but  modernized  in  appearance 
somewhat.  The  elm  under  which  the  first  military 
company  in  Pomfret  halted  and  had  a  lunch  given 
them  by  the  Holbrook  family  is  now  a  venerable 
tree.  The  company  was  on  the  its  way  to  Boston, 
'the  seat  of  war  '  during  the  Revolution.' 

The  sequel,  embracing  a  period  of  more  than  half  a 
century,  showed  that  Mr.  Sherman  had  not  made  an 
unwise  choice.  Mrs.  Sherman  became  at  once  a  true 
helpmate  in  all  his  affairs,  and,  what  was  most  impor- 


22 


tant  ot  all,  she  at  once-  fell  into  sympathy  with  hini  ; 
not  in  a  mechanical  or  indifferent  way,  but  con- 
scientiously and  enthusiastically,  and  this  in  all 
his  relii^ious  and  charitable  aims  and  pur()Oses, 
throun^hout  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

Failinc;  Health. — The  village  of  Woonsocket  is  a 
manufacturing  town.  The  power  employed  was  for- 
merly almost  entirely  water-power.  This  involved 
the  floodincf  of  hundreds  of  acres  of  land.  So  larire 
an  expanse  of  fresh  water  produced  an  atmosphere  not 
favorable  to  many  constitutions.  After  about  nine 
years  of  close  application  to  business,  Mr.  Sherman 
found  his  health  gradually  but  decidedly  failing. 
This  he  attributed,  in  no  small  degree,  to  the  damp- 
ness of  the  air,  caused  by  the  immense  amount  of 
evaporation  from  the  extended  fresh  water  overflows 
mentioned  above.  Whether  it  was  tliis,  or  whether  it 
was  his  close  and  unremitting  application  to  his  con- 
stantly-growing" business,  or  whether  it  was  both,  it 
may  not  be  easy  to  decide.  He  felt,  at  any  rate,  that 
his  health,  if  not  his  life,  depended  upon  his  making  a 
chanfre.  He  was  moreover  stroncrh'  advised  bv  his 
physicrans  to  leave  his  business,  to  leave  the  village, 
and  seek  recreation  and  a  complete  change  of  life 
in  all  directions. 

Accordingly  he  felt  it  imperative  to  give  up  his  lu- 
crative business,  and  find,  if  possible, some  quiet  re- 
treat by  the  sea-side,  where  a  change  of  air  and  a 
change  of  life  might  re;store  him  again  to  health. 

Removal  to  Wickford. —  He  had  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances in   tlu-   little   quiet  town   of  Wickford,  in 


23 

the  southern  part  of  the  State;  thither,  in  1843,  he 
removed.  By  throwing  off  all  care,  by  devoting 
himself  to  out-door  recreations,  his  health  began  to 
return  to  him.  As  soon  as  it  was  measurably  re-es- 
tablished, he  accepted  several  offers  of  trust  and  re- 
sponsibility, which  were  tendered  him — duties  which 
occupied  his  time,  diverted  his  mind,  and  thus  aided 
largely  in  building  up  again  his  worn  and  weakened 
physical  constitution. 

He  held  at  different  times,  thus,  the  offices  of 
notary  public,  counsellor  at  law,  and  sheriff,  amus- 
ing himself  in  the  intervals  of  active  service  in  gar- 
dening and  fishing,  of  both  which  he  was  very  fond. 

Fond  of  Fishing. — The  writer  has  a,  vivid  recol- 
lection of  his  extreme  fondness  for  the  piscatory  art. 
However  dignified  in  deportment  on  all  proper 
occasions,  the  moment  a  fishing  excursion  was  afoot 
he  was  as  full  of  fun  and  frolic  as  a  boy.  And  in 
this  pastime  he  showed  great  skill  and  expertness. 
Full  of  life  and  enthusiasm  himself,  he  seemed  to 
have  a  kind  of  ''luitching''  power  over  all  the  com- 
pany who  chanced  to  be  with  him. 

It  was  ever  a  great  pleasure  to  accompan)-  liiin  on 
these  fishing  excursions.  There  was  usually  at  the 
start  an  undertone  of  apparent  discouragement  as 
to  the  result, — the  weather  was  unfavoral)le,  the 
wind  was  the  wrong  wa\',  it  was  too  cold  or  too 
hot,  the  bait  was  not  of  the  right  kind,  the  fishing 
ground  had  not  been  well  chosen,  the  boat  was  too 
small  or  too  large,  the  hooks  too  large  or  bad  in 
form,    and    nothing    would    be    accomplished.     But 


2  + 

all  this  wc  knew  to  be  onl\"  a  kind  of  internal  self- 
preparation  against  a  possible  failure,  and  at  the 
first  indications  of  success,  as  soon  as  a  sinq'le  fish 
was  brought  into  the  l)oat.  instantly  he  became 
electrified  himself,  antl  infused  the  same  spirit  of  ex- 
hilaration into  all  the  company. 

Tii.T-i  r-iNG. — There  was  one  kind  of  fishing  which 
he  enjoyed  remarkably.  It  was  called  from  the  nature 
of  the  process  tilt-up-i)ig.  It  was  a  winter  sport- 
Some  good  fish-pond  was  selected,  holes  were  cut 
through  the  ice,  and  baited  hooks,  attached  by  lines 
to  short  poles,  were  dropped  down.  The  pole  was 
so  arranged,  partly  over  the  hole  and  partly  lying 
outside  on  the  ice,  that  when  the  fish  bit,  the  long 
end  would  till-up  and  thus  the  angler  would  be  made 
aware  of  the  fact. 

Conceive  thus  thirty  or  forty  holes  cut  in  a  pond 
where  fish  are  plenty,  and  where,  it  being  winter,  the 
fish  are  himgry  ;  conceive  your  sportsman  on  skates 
and  ready  to  glide  at  an)'  moment  to  any  portion  of 
the  pond  covering  several  acres;  conceive  of  bright, 
warm  fires  burning  on  the  pond  in  a  half-dozen  differ- 
ent places  ;  conceive  now  of  hungry  fish  biting  at 
these  lines,  and  the  poles  bobbing  uj)  all  over  the 
pond,  ready  for  \ou  to  make  your  haul,  at  a  half- 
dozen  different  places  at  once,  and,  if  you  are  at  all 
fond  of  sport,  you  can  understand  how  tilt-up-ing  was 
a  rare  amusement. 

Such  it  really  was,  as  tlie  writer  can  testify  from 
personal  experience,  he  having  accompanied  Mr. 
Sherman   once  or  twice  on   these  excursions.      For 


25 

weeks  and  months,  deprived  of  his  favorite  pastime 
in  the  usual  method,  he  found  rare  and  grand  sport 
in  this  form  of  winter  anghng. 

Dividing  his  time  thus  between  business  and 
amusement,  neither  of  which  taxed  his  strength, 
Mr.  Sherman  finally  regained  his  health  completely. 
He  now  felt  like  turning  again  to  his  favorite  voca- 
tion of  journalism.  His  old  paper,  The  Woonsockct 
Patriot,  however,  he  had  sold  to  one  of  his  former 
apprentices,  Mr.  S.  S.  Foss.  This,  therefore,  even 
if  so  disposed,  he  could  not  now  recover. 

Removal  to  East  GkeExWvich — "  The  Pendu- 
lum."— A  paper  called  The  Kent  County  Atlas\\-2iA 
been  established  at  Phcnix,  R.  I.,  during  the  years 
1850-1851  by  Mr.  I.  H.  Lincoln.  It  met  with  in- 
sufficient encouragement  to  warrant  its  continued 
publication  in  that  town.  Accordingly  in  1852  it 
was  removed  to  East  Greenwich,  R.  I.  There  it 
was  published  for  a  year  and  a  half  with  scarcely  bet- 
ter success.  The  paper  was  now  placed  in  the 
hands  of  some  interested  citizens,  who  were  greatly 
desirous  of  its  success,  and  who  became  bound  finan- 
cially for  its  further  publication. 

These  gentlemen,  knowinL*-  the  rare  fitness  and 
ability  of  Mr.  Sherman  to  manage  such  an  enter- 
prise, urgently  solicited  him  to  purchase  the  office, 
press,  materials,  etc.,  and  start  a  newspaper  of  his 
own,  making  the  best  use  he  could  of  the  subscrip- 
tion list  of  71ie  Atlas.  After  a  delay  of  some  months 
Mr.  Sherman  finally  decided  to  engage  in  this  enter- 
prise, and  in  May,  1854.  he  issued  the  first  number 


26 


of  liis  new  paper,  The  Rhode  Island  J\)idului)i.  Its 
imprint  bore  tlie  names  of  Wickford  and  Greenwich 
as  places  of  publication,  while  it  was  actually /r/V/A-rt', 
first  in  Woonsocket,  and  afterwards  in  Providence,  in 
the  office  of  A,  Crawford  Greene,  to  whom  allusion 
has  been  made  above. 

There  was  siofnificance  in  the  name  of  this  paper, 
Mr.  Sherman  beincr  accustomed  to  say,  that  his  new 
paper  was  to  "  jti^/;/^"  between  the  two  places  of 
publication  above  named,  and  also  "  to  swing  for  all." 
The  muscle-poiK.'e7'  press  which  the  proprietor  had 
purchased,  and  on  which  the  old  Atlas  had  been 
published,  was  all  well  enough  in  Atlas s  day,  since 
he  had  an  arm  and  shoulder  which,  as  we  are  told 
in  classic  annals,  lifted  and  supported  the  world  it 
self.  But  now  it  was  no  loniji'er  braion  but  brain 
that  must  lift  the  world,  and  so  Mr.  Sherman,  calling 
into  service  the  power  of  steam  to  take  the  place  of 
brute  force  in  operating  the  complex  machinery  of 
printing,  chose  to  make  his  paper  an  Atlas  in  mo7'al 
and  mental  vigor,  and  thus  to  move  and  lift  the 
world. 

Mr.  Sherman's  name,  appearing  now  as  editor  and 
proprietor,  became  at  once  the  earnest  of  success. 
The  number  of  subscribers  immediately  began  to 
increase.  It  soon  took  a  decided  and  influential 
stand  among  the  journals  of  the  State.  Combin- 
ing literature  and  story  with  local  news,  intelli- 
gent, fresh,  and  racy,  it  became,  almost  from  the 
first  issue,  a  favorite  in  the  office,  the  shop,  and  es- 
pecially in  the  family,  where  its  influence  was  always 


27 

wholesome,  high-toned,  and  elevating.  Exceptional 
tact  and  taste  was  ever  shown  in  its  literary  depart- 
ment, especially  in  the  selection  of  its  stories,  one  al- 
ways appearing  in  every  issue. 

This  paper  he  continued  to  publish  for  upwards  of 
twenty-three  years,  or  until  October,  1877. 

Retires  from  Business. — At  this  time,  having 
come  well-nigh  up  to  the  appointed  term  of  human 
life,  the  three-score  years  and  ten  ;  having  accumu- 
lated a  sufficiently  ample  competence  for  a  man  of  his 
moderate  desires  and  economical  habits  ;  and  feeling 
that  now  he  had  reached  the  quiet  Sabbath  of  what  had 
been  an  industrious  and  active  life,  he  decided  to  cut 
loose  from  all  business  connections  and  devote  what 
remained  of  life  to  literary  and  social  diversions 
and  delights,  and  to  the  accomplishment  of  what  he 
could  do  for  the  cause  of  education,  of  morals,  of  re- 
ligion, and  the  Church  of  Christ. 

He  accordingly  sold  out  his  paper,  transferring  it 
into  the  hands  of  a  gentleman  who  has  continued 
its  publication  down  to  the  present  time. 

The  publication  of  The  Pendulum  had,  for  more 
than  a  score  of  years,  been  b\-  no  means  an  irksome 
enterprise  to  Mr.  Sherman.  It  had  furnished  him 
congenial  employment,  one  more  than  an\-  other  in 
harmony  with  his  natural  inclinations.  It  had  aflord- 
ed  him  a  channel  for  the  free  expression  of  his  own 
personal  convictions,  on  all  questions  of  morals  and 
reform  ;  and  thus  had  become  to  him  a  source  of 
pleasure  and  satisfaclicjn  rather  than  a  business  care 
and  burden. 


28 

FeelincT  that  he  could  trust  to  no  one  the  final 
arrangement  and  disposition  of  the  various  articles, 
and  matter  generally,  to  be  published,  and  the 
"  making  up  "  of  the  completed  forms,  he  himself 
was  accustomed  to  go  to  the  city  of  Providence 
every  week,  and  give  his  personal  attention  to  this 
business.  He  thus  made  himself  acquainted  with  all 
the  employees  of  the  establishment,  and  by  his  pleas- 
ant social  bearing  and  his  never-failing  good  cheer, 
he  soon  became  a  general  favorite  with  all.  His 
periodical  advent  was  thus  always  anticipated  and 
welcomed,  and  soon,  from  the  highest  in  position  to 
the  lowest — not  in  an  unbecoming  and  graceless 
familiarity,  but  in  real  good-fellowship  and  kindly 
feeling — he  was  known  and  addressed  as  "Uncle 
William."  Of  course  this  method  of  address  was 
first  caught  from  the  lips  of  the  proprietor  of  the  es- 
tablishment, his  nephew,  who  would  naturally  address 
him  in  this  way. 

Rose  Cottage. — Up  to  this  time  Mr.  Sherman 
had  lived  and  entertained  his  friends  in  "  his  own 
hired  house,"  not  intending  to  purchase  and  thus 
fetter  himself,  until  health,  fully  restored,  should  en- 
able him  to  fix  upon  a  permanent  locality  for  resi- 
dence. Feeling  that  he  had  now  reached  that  point, 
in  1858  he  purchased  the  beautiful  cottage  in  Elm 
Street,  opposite  the  Greenwich  Academy,  one  of  the 
finest  residences  and  localities  in  the  village. 

We  have  often  visited  him  at  this  place,  and  have 
always  enjoyed  exceedingly  tlie  external  as  well  as 
the    internal   cheer  and  beauty  of  his  home.     The 


29 

house  occupies  a  very  elevated  position,  and  com- 
mands a  most  delightful  view  of  the  adjacent  bay, 
with  its  circling  coves  and  its  larger  outer  ex- 
panse, its  wooded  banks  and  fresh  green  islands. 

Marriage  of  his  Daughter. — Mr.  Sherman  had 
only  one  child,  a  daughter,  Mary  M.  Sherman.  She 
was  educated  mainly  at  East  Greenwich  Academy, 
where  she  passed  through  the  prescribed  curriculum, 
and  graduated  at  the  close  of  the  course  with  valedic- 
tory honors.  Subsequently,  for  the  purpose  of  per- 
fecting herself  in  special  departments,  she  spent 
about  a  year  at  the  Oread  Collegiate  Institute, 
Worcester,  Mass.,  at  that  time  one  of  the  most  pop- 
ular and  influential  ladies'  seminaries  in  New  En- 
Sfland. 

In  the  year  1872  she  was  married  to  John  A. 
Mead,  M.  D.,  a  successful  physician,  and  a  solid 
citizen  of  Rutland,  Vermont.  This  marriage  took 
from  "  Rose  Cottage"  one  of  the  chief  attractions  of 
their  home,  and  after  selling  out  business  in  Green- 
wich, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sherman  spent  much  of  their 
time  at  the  residence  of  their  daughter. 

Mr.  Sherman's  Death. — It  was  here,  while  on  a 
visit,  that  Mr.  Sherman  died,  March  2,  1882,  aged 
seventy-three  years.  Eor  some  months  he  had  been 
far  from  well.  Eor  a  number  of  weeks  his  malady, 
which  was  a  complication  of  disorders,  constantly  in- 
creased. He  found  himself  unable  to  go  back  to  his 
home,  and  after  a  severe  and  most  painful  illness  died 
thus,  not  in  his  own  home,  yet  in  the  midst  of  his 
small,  but  loving  and  devoted  famil)-. 


;o 


His  sickness,  protracted  ami  painful,  was  endured 
throLicrhout  with  Christian  fortitude.  He  was,  in 
truth,  a  patient  sufferer,  as  he  drew  near  the  (-nd 
of  life,  of  which  he  was  entirely  conscious.  He 
arose,  not  indeed,  to  any  grand  and  ecstatic  contem- 
plations and  visions  of  tlic  future  glories  of  the  world 
which  he  was  about  to  enter,  but,  what  was  perhaps 
better,  he  settled  down  into  a  calm,  firm  trust  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  his  only  and  all-sufficient  Sav- 
iour, and  in  this  holy,  restful  trust  he  never  faltered 
or  wa\ered  to  the  moment  oi  his  departure. 

He  was  remarkabl)-  thoughtful  of  everything  per- 
taining to  his  funeral,  and  expressed  freely  his  wishes 
and  preferences  in  regard  to  all  the  arrangements  for 
the  same.  Among  other  things,  he  made  a  special 
request  that  there  should  be  no  contributions  of 
flowers,  saying  that  the  kind  and  affectionate  feelings 
of  his  friends,  shown  in  so  pronounced  a  way  during 
his  protracted  illness,  were  better  far  than  the  rich- 
est and  rarest  flowers  that  could  be  heaped  about 
his  senseless  body  in  whatever  wealth  or  profusion. 

Funp:ral  Services. — Accomj:)anied  by  his  imme- 
diate family,  his  remains  were  taken  to  his  home  in 
East  Greenwich,  where  kind  friends  had  made  ready 
the  house  for  their  reception,  and  were  waiting  to 
receive  them.  They  reached  there  Saturday  after- 
noon, and  on  Monday  following  the  funeral  services 
were  held  at  his  late  resilience.  The  house  was 
filled  with  relatives  and  niourning  friends.  A  large 
number  of  citizens,  embracing  many  of  the  promi- 
nent professional  and  business  men  of   the  village 


and  vicinity,  were  present,  desirous  of  paying  the 
last  tribute  of  respect  to  one  whom  they  had  so  long 
and  so  pleasantly  known.  In  conformity  with  the 
request  of  Mr.  Sherman,  there  were  no  elaborate 
floral  decorations,  except  a  handsome  wreath  of 
calla  leaves  and  wheat,  a  sickle  of  wheat  and  myrtle, 
and  a  few  other  flowers  that  had  been  affection- 
ately laid  at  the  head  of  the  casket.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Goodwin,  Rector  of  St.  Luke's  Church,  read  por- 
tions of  the  Episcopal  burial  service.  The  h)mn, 
"  Asleep  in  Jesus,"  was  then  sweetly  rendered  by  a 
quartet  of  voices,  the  music  being  by  Prof.  O. 
L.  Carter,  who  presided  at  the  organ.  Prayer  was 
now  offered  b\'  Rev.  W.  J.  Yates.  Appropriate  re- 
marks were  made  by  the  Rev.  F.  J.  Blakeslee,  Prin- 
cipal of  the  Academy,  whose  attendance  on  this 
occasion  had  previously  been  requested  b)-  Mr. 
Sherman. 

Professor  Blakeslee  spoke  briefly.  "  Death,"  he 
said,  "  was  that  dread  and  mysterious  experience  to 
which  no  reach  of  Christian  fortitude  could  ever 
reconcile  us.  A  hope  in  Christ  and  the  consola- 
tions of  di\ine  grace  did  in  some  measure  solace  us  in 
the  midst  of  bereavement.  They  gave  promise  of  a 
bright  and  better  life  hereafter.  Death,  although  a 
necessity  to  secure  what  was  obtained  by  it.  was 
yet  by  no  means  an  unmixc;d  evil.  Its  shadow  was 
cold  and  chilling,  but  was  cast  across  a  golden  portal 
which  opened  to  the  realms  of  endless  jo)'." 

Reference  was  made  to  the  moral  and  religious 
life  of  the  departed  ;  to  the  influence  which,  through 


the  press  and  in  niiiiicrous  otlicr  ways,  he  had  ex- 
ertctl  ;  to  liis  havin;,;  erected  and  supported  a  chapel 
for  divine  worship,  and  to  his  ever  salutary  example 
for  good  among-  his  fellows.  He  spoke  also  of  the 
sweet,  peaceful,  and  trustful  composure  with  which 
he  approached  the  end,  and  linall\-  la\'  down  to  his 
last  sleej). 

A  few  remarks  were  made  by  Mrs.  Lydia  Ma- 
comber,  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  after  which  was 
sung  the  sadly  joyous  h\'mn,  "I  Come  to  Thee." 
Mr.  Yates,  assistetl  by  Professor  Blakeslee,  read  the 
closing  service,  and  then  pronounced  the  benediction. 

His  appearance  after  death  was  most  life-like. 
Looking  upon  his  calm  and  peaceful  face,  one  could 
easily  feel  that  "he  is  not  dead,  but  sleepeth."  So 
placid  and  natural  did  he  seem  that  one  who  had 
heard  him  often  in  relifrious  meeting's  said  :  "  It 
seems  as  if  he  could  speak." 

The  remains,  accompanied  b\-  immediate  friends, 
were  borne  to  Elm  Grove  Cemetery,  near  Wick- 
fortl.  and,  in  conformit\-  witli  the  wishes  of  Mr.  Sher- 
man, expressed  before  death,  were  deposited  in  the 
receiving  tomb,  to  remain  there  for  a  few  weeks 
before  burial.  At  the  tomb  Mr.  I.  Capron,  Chaplain 
of  Harmon)-  Lodge,  of  wliich  lie  was  a  meml)er,  read 
the  beautiful  burial  service  of  that  organization. 

Burial. — Subsequently  (in  the  following  May), 
in  the  presence  of  friends,  his  body  was  taken  from 
the  receiving  tomb  and  placed  in  a  receptacle  of 
masonry  which  had  been  prepared  with  great  care 
and   excellence  by  his  friend   E.   \V.   L.,  of  Green- 


wich.  The  Rev.  J.  F.  Jones,  Pastor  of  the  Allcnton 
Baptist  Church,  offered  prayer  at  this,  his  last  rest- 
ing place.  There  his  sacred  ashes  shall  doubtless 
sleep  until  comes  the  resurrection  dawn,  when,  as  he 
firmly  believed,  he  will  be  "clothed  upon"  with  a  body 
not  of  corruption,  but  of  incorruption  ;  with  a  body 
sown  indeed  in  dishonor,  but  to  be  raised  in  glory  ; 
a  body  sown  in  weakness,  but  to  be  raised  in  power  ; 
a  body  sown  a  natural  body,  but  to  be  raised  an  im- 
mortal and  spiritual  body.  It  shall  be  an  eternal 
temple  for  the  indwelling  soul,  of  grand  and  beauti- 
ful mould,  of  divine  workmanship,  of  eternal  duration, 
and  fitted  for  an  everlasting  life  in  the  world  of 
light  ;  "  a  temple  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in 
the  heavens." 

Brother,  thou  art  gone  to  rest. 

We  will  not  weep  for  thee, 
For  thou  art  now  where  oft  on  earth 

Thy  spirit  longed  to  be. 

Brother,  thou  art  gone  to  rest, 

Thy  toils  and  cares  are  o'er, 
And  sorrow,  pain,  and  suflering  now 

Shall  ne'er  distress  thee  more. 

Brother,  thou  art  gone  to  rest, 
And  this  shall  be  our  prayer, 
That  when  we  reach  our  journey's  end 
Thy  glory  we  may  share. 
3 


Mr.    SIIKKMAN's    ClIAKAeTKR. 

K  r  us  turn  away  now  from  the  tearful  sur- 
rounding's and  associations  of  this  freshly 
occupied  g^rave,  and  contemplate  for  a  few 
moments  the  character  of  him  whose  history  we 
have  briefly  sketched. 

Literary  Turn  of  Mind. —  In  the  first  place,  Mr. 
Sherman  was  a  man  of  decided  literary  taste  and 
bent  of  mind.  This  became  evident  in  his  boyhood 
and  youth.  He  was  not  satisfied,  as  we  have  seen, 
with  the  acquisition  of  the  common  English  branches, 
as  tautrht  in  his  da\'  in  the  district  school.  He 
sought  the  academy,  and  subsequently  another  pri- 
vate school,  in  order  to  supplement  what  he  had  al- 
ready learned  by  the  acquisition  of  the  higher  and 
nobler  truths  of  literary  and  scientific  knowledg-e. 

For  a  time  engaged  in  business,  as  a  clerk,  his 
natural  proclivities  again  asserted  themselves,  and 
we  find  him  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  the  editor  of 
The  Ladies  Mirror,  at  Southbridc^e.  We  also 
find  him  here,  on  occasion,  tr\ing  his  hand  at  poetry, 
and  thus  furnishing  the  programme  for  F"ourth  of 
July  celebrations  of  the  town  with  odes  and  h)mns. 
Later,  several  other  poetic  effusions  fell  from  his  pen. 

Subsequently  he  devoted  more  than  thirty  years 
of  his  life,  and  that  the  very  strength  of  his  manhood, 


35 

to  journalistic  enterprise,  his  time  beingr  divided 
between  the  JVoonsockct  Pa/riot,  about  nine  years, 
and  The  Pendulum,  some  twenty-three  )'ears.  For 
a  short  time,  also,  he  had  charge  of  a  campaign 
paper,  Republican  in  politics,  called  the  Daily  Na- 
tional Union,  and  published  in  Providence. 

As  AN  Editor  and  Journalist. — Mr.  Sherman  was 
always  decided  and  pronounced  in  his  views  and 
utterances.  He  thoroughly  believed  what  he  said, 
and  fearlessly  said  what  he  believed.  No  man  could 
possibly  mistake  his  position.  He  was  ever  a  strong 
and  unswerving  adherent  and  advocate  of  whatever 
is  worthy  and  noble  in  morals ;  whatever  is  healthful 
and  desirable  in  reform  ;  whatever  is  high-toned  and 
true  in  politics  and  in  religion.  He  might  lose  sub- 
scribers, as  he  did  at  Woonsocket,  by  denouncing 
the  rum  traffic  and  upholding  the  cause  of  temper- 
ance, but  it  mattered  not  to  him  when  the  weal  of 
humanity  was  at  stake.  As  a  young  publisher,  he 
needed  every  subscriber,  but  he  felt  that  his  greatest 
and  most  imperative  need  was  a  clean  conscience, 
and  a  mind  that  would  act  without  fear  or  favor  for 
the  right,  the  true,  and  the  good. 

Hence  we  find  him  throughout  his  long  career 
in  journalism  ever  and  fearlessly,  regardless  of 
pecuniary  gains  or  losses,  promulgating  what  he 
honestly  believed  to  be  just,  right,  and  true.  His 
pen  was  ever  and  in  the  highest  sense  loyal  to 
every  reform,  and  to  every  movement  which  con- 
templated th(;  uj)lifting  and  ennobling  of  men, 
whether  in  the  realms  of  mind,  morals,  or  religion. 


36 

A  contemporary,  speaking-  of  The  J\'ndit/ii)}i,  and 
Mr.  Sherman's  connection  with  the  same,  uses  the 
folio wi nor  laniTuajre  : 

"  It  is  not  many  years  since  that  the  only  newspaper 
taken  by  many  families  in  our  town  was  77/^-  Rhode 
Islayid  Pendi(/i(?fi,  'swinging  for  all,'  giving  the 
local  news  each  week,  as  well  as  the  pith  of  the  gen- 
eral news  of  the  day.  It  was  greeted  on  Friday 
evening  as  a  dear  old  household  friend.  This  was 
during  its  thriving  days,  under  the  care  and  editorship 
of  its  founder,  the  late  William  N.  Sherman,  who 
took  great  pride  in  the  "  swings"  of  T/ic  Pendulum^ 
and  labored  to  make  it  an  honor  to  the  profession. 
Under  his  guidance  it  contained  the  news,  and  not 
such  portions  as  might  tickle  the  fancy  of  some  pet 
subscriber.  When  William  N.  Sherman  published  an 
article  of  news,  no  one  could  say  to  him  as  w^as  said 
to  one  in  ancient  times,  'Why  hath  Satan  filled  thine 
heart  to  lie,  and  to  keep  back  part  ?  '  " 

Mr.  Sherman  was  never  a  ineclianical  writer.  His 
compositions  were  always  full  of  feeling  and  sentiment, 
and  usually  seasoned  with  enough  of  sensible  humor 
and  pleasantry  to  elicit  and  hold  the  attention  of  the 
reader,  and  to  please  as  well  as  to  instruct.  He  was 
himself  exceedingly  fond  of  l)Oth  music  and  poetry, 
and  these  marked  tastes  of  his  usually  left  their  im- 
press, to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  in  the  way  of  vi- 
vacity and  sentiment,  on  his  productions. 

One  thing  is  especially  worthy  of  note  in  connec- 
tion with  his  newspaper  life — nothing  was  ever 
permitted  to  appear    in    the  columns  of  his  paper, 


37 

whether  in  tlie  line  of  advertisement  or  of  reading 
matter,  that  was  not  perfectly  unexceptionable  on  the 
score  of  propriety  and  purity.  There  was  never  an 
issue  from  his  press  that  could  not  be  read  entire, 
advertisements  and  all,  b\-  all  the  members  of  the 
most  high-toned,  pure  and  virtuous  family,  without 
the  least  hesitancy  or  unpleasant  feeling.  In  this 
regard,  he  furnished  an  example  in  journalism  which 
some  of  even  our  religious  papers  would  do  well  to 
follow. 

Literary  Associations. — We  have  said  that  Mr. 
Sherman  was  of  a  decided  literary  turn  of  mind. 
This,  as  we  have  seen,  naturally  led  him  into  jour 
nalism.  But  this  was  not  the  only  evidence  of  this 
strong  bent  in  his  intellectual  composition.  F"ond 
of  books,  he  had  gathered  together  a  large  library. 
He  was  especially  fond  of  history,  biography,  and 
above  all  of  Biblical  literature.  With  the  latter,  and 
with  the  Bible  itself,  he  made  himself  most  familiarl)- 
acquainted. 

He  was  one  of  the  original  movers  in  the  action 
which  secured  to  the  town  of  Greenwich  a  public 
library,  and  one  of  the  contributors  to  the  original 
establishment. 

He  was  an  honorary  member  of  the  Rhode  Island 
Press  Association.  This  association  was  not  formed 
until  after  he  had  retired  from  active  journalism,  and 
hence  he  was  precluded  from  being  a  regular  mem- 
ber. At  the  annual  meeting  succeeding  his  decease 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  a  suitable  memo- 
rial in  recognition  of  the  same,  which  was  forwarded 


38 

to  his  famil)'  and  placed  upon  the  records  of  the  so- 
ciety. 

During  his  residence  at  Wickford  the  "  Wickford 
Literary  Association  "  was  formed  in  1 853.  Mr.  Sher- 
man was  elected  the  first  president,  and  held  the  of- 
fice until  he  commenced  business  in  East  Greenwich, 
when  he  resigned.  This  society  was  composed  of 
ladies  and  gentlemen  from  the  different  churches 
and  societies,  together  with  the  clergymen  of  the 
villao-e.  It  res^istered  more  than  one  hundred 
names. 

He  had  been  previously  the  president  of  a  gentle- 
men and  ladies'  Literary  Association  in  Woonsocket. 
He  was  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Phlog- 
nothian  Society,  a  flourishing  literary  organization, 
in  the  East  Greenwich  Academy.  He  was  also 
made  an  honorary  member  of  the  Rhode  Island 
Press  Association,  in  connection  with  Governor  An- 
thony and  other  leading  journalists  of  the  State. 

A  Good  Business  Man. — Mr.  Sherman  had,  in 
many  ways,  very  superior  business  qualifications. 
He  was  very  careful  about  expenditures  ;  kept  all 
his  affairs  snug  and  well  in  hand  ;  was  active,  ener- 
getic, prompt  and  orderl)-.  He  was  slow  to  make  a 
new  move,  but  when  he  had  decided  to  make  it,  he 
threw  himself  into  the  enterprise  with  all  his  might. 
determined,  at  all  hazards,  to  make  it  a  success.  He 
made  few  promises,  but  kept  to  the  letter  and  to  the 
time  those  that  he  did  make.  Men  always  knew 
where  to  find  him. 

A    Providence    gentleman,    on    reading    several 


39 

newspaper  notices  after  his  death,  remarked : 
"  What!  not  one  word  about  his  business  quahfica- 
tions  ?  Why,  I  think  his  executive  abihty  as  a  busi- 
ness man  very  great.  He  was  ever  prompt,  ener- 
getic and  methodical." 

Public-spirited. — Mr.  Sherman  took  a  hvely  in- 
terest in  whatever  pertained  to  the  pubHc  good. 
Any  movement  contemplating  the  intellectual,  moral 
or  spiritual  elevation  of  the  community  was  sure  to 
encrao-e  his  immediate  attention  and  sympathy.  He 
not  only  advocated  all  movements  looking  to  prog- 
ress and  reform  with  his  most  willing  pen,  but  he 
also  took  hold  of  the  actual  zuork  himself.  Thus  he 
was  one  of  the  constituent  members  in  the  formation 
of  the  Free  Public  Library  of  East  Greenwich,  and 
himself  donated  one  hundred  bound  volumes  to  the 
same. 

In  politics  he  was  always  on  the  side  of  law  and 
order,  temperance  and  freedom,  justice  and  human- 
ity, education,  morals,  and  progress. 

When  the  civil  or  Dorr  war  broke  out  in  Rhode 

Island  in  1842,  contemplating  the  forcible  overthrow 

of  the  legally  constituted  government,  and  of  social 

and  civil  institutions  as  old  and  as  venerable  as  the 

oro-anization  of  the  State,  Mr.  Sherman  was  quick  to 

>2>  ... 

decide  what  was  right,  and  what  was  his  duty  m  the 

matter.  Being  himself  incapacitated  by  ill-health  to 
take  his  place  in  the  law-and-order  army,  he  volun- 
tarily (no  one  was  drafted)  hired  a  man  to  take  his 
place,  paying  him  the  regular  day's  wages  he  had 
before  been  receiving,  and  at  the  close  of  the  rebel- 


40 

lion  turnini^  over  to  him  the  bounty  granted  by  the 
State  to  all  volunteers.  He  was  never  the  man  to 
preach  to  others  and  to  do  nothing  himself. 

"  If  to  do  were  as  easy  as  to  know  what  were  good 
to  be  done,  chapels  had  been  churches  and  poor 
men's  cottages  princes'  palaces.  //  is  a  good  divine 
that  follows  his  oiun  instructionsy — Shakespeare. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  State  rebellion  just 
mentioned,  the  ladies  of  Wickford,  wishing  to  ten- 
der to  the  Independent  Company  of  Wickford  Vol- 
unteers some  testimonial  of  their  respect  and  appre- 
ciation, purchased  an  elegant  flag,  and  invited  Mr. 
Sherman  to  make  the  presentation  at  the  following 
Fourth  of  July  celebration,  in  their  behalf.  This  he 
consented  to  do,  and  in  a  few  choice  and  pertinent 
remarks  made  the  presentation.  Capt.  Thomas  of 
the  Pioneers,  in  fitting  terms,  pleasantly  responded. 

He  was  ever  decided  and  outspoken  upon  the 
great  questions  of  the  day.  During  the  war  of  the 
slave-holders'  rebellion,  his  age  precluded  him  from 
becoming  a  member  of  the  army,  but  his  sympathies 
were  strong,  and  his  language  unequivocal,  bold,  and 
outspoken  in  favor  of  the  Union  cause.  No  man 
could  possibly  misunderstand  his  position. 

When  President  Grant  visited  General  Burnside  at 
Bristol,  on  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  Rhode  Island, 
Mr.  Sherman  received  a  special  invitation  to  join 
the  party  and  dine  with  them.  This  is  mentioned 
simply  to  show  that  he  was  recognized  as  a  man 
who  had  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
nation  ;   for  he  was  invited,  not  simply  as  a  compli- 


41 

ment  to  the  Rhode  Island  Pejtdiihini,  but  in  recog- 
nition of  his  pubHc  spirit,  and  extensive  influence  in 
the  world  of  poHtics  and  reform. 

When  President  Hayes  visited  Rhode  Island,  in 
1880,  Mr.  Sherman  was  invited  to  join  the  Presi- 
dential party,  who  were  to  have  a  grand  dinner  and 
speeches  on  the  shore  of  Providence  River.  On 
introducing  him.  General  Burnside,  who  was  present, 
remarked,  "  This  is  one  of  our  most  substantial  cit- 
izens." On  such  an  occasion,  and  from  the  lips  of 
such  a  man,  this  w^as  no  unmeaning  tribute. 

On  all  important  public  occasions,  when  anything 
important  was  to  be  done  in  his  own  town,  Mr.  Sher- 
man was  aKva)'s  thought  of  and  assigned  to  some 
important  place  or  duty.  Thus  in  Fourth  of  July  cele- 
brations, on  several  occasions,  he  was  represented 
on  the  programme  in  some  honorable  capacity. 
On  the  Fourth  of  July,  1876,  the  Centennial  of 
the  Nation's  Independence  was  celebrated  at  East 
Greenwich  with  unusual  demonstration.  Mr.  Sher- 
man was  chosen  as  the  presiding  officer  of  the  day, 
and  likewise  contributed  an  original  hymn  for  the 
occasion. 

He  was  never  ambitious  of  political  distinction. 
A  year  or  two  before  his  death,  the  Republican  Com- 
mittee of  the  town  urged  him  to  accept  the  nomina- 
tion for  Chairman  of  the  Town  Council.  He  de- 
clined, and  proposed  the  name  of  the  man  who  was 
subsequently  elected. 

He  served  at  different  times  as  Public  Notary, 
Justice  of  the  Peace  of  the  town  of  North  Kingston, 


42 

Leg^al  Counsellor  and  Sheriff.  ( )n  lcL;al  questions 
he  was  often  consulted,  and  liis  advice  and  counsel 
were  always  given  gratuitously.  He  was  also  made 
Trial  Justice,  or  Judge,  in  the  town  of  East  Green- 
wich, on  his  removal  to  that  place,  as  we  find  by 
the  following  record,  found  among  his  papers  : 

"  At  a  town  council,  holden  in  and  for  the  town 
of  East  Greenwich,  on  Saturday,  the  2d  day  of 
July,  A.I).  1 88 1,  voted  and  declared  that  William 
N.  Sherman  be  and  he  is  hereby  elected  Trial  Jus- 
tice in  and  for  said  town. 

"  EnwAKD  Stanhope, 

"  Council  Clerk" 

An  Odd  Fki.luw. — Mr.  Sherman  had  an  especial 
admiration  for  the  principles  of  Odd  Fellowship, 
holdinor  thcin  in  tlie  hiofhest  recrard.  He  therefore 
united  with  Harmony  Lodge,  No.  5,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of 
East  Greenwich.  Of  this  organization  he  was  chap- 
lain for  many  years. 

In  December,  1881.  while  in  Greenwich,  feeling 
that  he  was  drawing  near  to  the  end  of  life,  he  sent 
for  a  member  of  the  lodge,  to  whom  he  gave  direc- 
tions with  reference  to  the  arrangrement  of  his  grave. 
He  also  named  to  him  whom  he  would  prefer  as  his 
bearers,  viz.  :  Hon.  R.  P.  Alexander,  No.  6  Office 
Scarlet  Number ;  S.  A.  Slocum,  Past  Grand  ;  L. 
Aylesworth,  Past  Grand  ;  E.  M.  Lowell,  Past  Grand. 
J.  Capron,  chaplain  at  the  time  of  his  funeral,  read 
the  beautiful  burial  service  of  this  order  at  the  tomb. 

The  following  memorial  resolutions  were  passed 
by  a  sister  lodge  in  Rutland,  W'rmont,  where  he  died  : 


43 
"  Memorial  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  regular  meeting  of  Killington  Lodge,  No. 
29,  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  following  resolutions  were 
adopted  : 

"  Whereas,  The  death  in  our  midst  of  Brother 
William  N.  Sherman,  a  member  of  Harmony  Lodge, 
No.  5,  in  the  jurisdiction  of  Rhode  Island,  makes  it 
appropriate  for  us  in  our  fraternal  relations  to  ex- 
tend our  condolence  to  those  who  were  so  long  as- 
sociated with  him  and  knew  him  in  the  bonds  of 
friendship,  love  and  truth,  and  to  manifest  our  esteem 
for  his  useful  and  benevolent  life  ;  therefore  be  it 

"  Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Brother  William 
N.  Sherman  the  fraternity  of  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  F'ellows  has  lost  a  member  whose  religious  and 
benevolent  impulses  led  to  the  elevation  and  im- 
provement of  his  fellow-men.  A  lover  of  his  race, 
he  provided  instruction  for  the  people  ;  a  Christian, 
he  remembered  the  needs  of  the  poor  and  those 
seeking  for  a  higher  and  better  life  ;  a  philanthropist 
and  benefactor,  he  sought  to  relieve  the  downtrod- 
den and  distressed  in  tlie  sj^irit  of  Odd  Fellowship. 

''Resolved,  That  Killington  Lodge,  No.  29,  tender 
their  sympathy  and  condolence  with  Harmony  Lodge 
of  East  Greenwich,  Rhode  Island,  on  the  decease  of 
a  brother  who  honored  them  1)\-  his  membership, 
and  they  have  reason  to  take  great  pride  in  his  use- 
ful life  and  benevolent  deeds,  so  expressive  ot  the 
principles  which  are  the  groundwork  of  their  order. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  lodge,  appre- 


44 

ciatinsj;'  the  kiiulK'  lite  aiul  usctiil  public  services  of 
their  brother,  and  feeling  a  deep  sense  of  the  sor- 
rowful affliction  that  has  come  to  their  household, 
extend  to  the  devoted  wife  and  to  the  family  of  John 
A.  Mead,  M.  D.,  our  fraternal  sympath)'  in  their 
ereat  bereavement. 

"  Rcsohcd,  That  these  resolutions  be  entered  upon 
the  records  of  this  lodge,  and  a  copy  thereof  be  sent 
to  the  Harmony  Lodge,  and  to  the  family  of  the  de- 
ceased. 

"  Ri'so/i'i'd,  '1  iiat  these  resolutions  be  published  in 
the  village  newspapers,  and  in  the  Guide,  of  Albany^ 
N.  Y." 

After  Mr.  Sherman's  decease,  Mrs.  Sherman  pre- 
sented the  lodge  with  his  picture.  The  following, 
will  further  explain  : 

F.AST  Grkknwich.  R.  I.,  Dec.  14,  1883. 
Mrs.  II'.  A.  Shcrnia)t. 

Dear  Madam  :  Compl)ing  with  your  request  of 
the  loth  inst.,  I  last  evening  called  at  Miss  Law- 
ton's  and  received  the  picture  of  your  respected 
husband  and  our  late  Brother  Sherman.  At  a 
proper  moment,  during  the  lodge  session,  I  advanced 
to  the  position  usually  occupied  on  such  occasions, 
and  after  some  appropriate  remarks  presented  the 
lodge  in  your  behalf  with  the  portrait,  etc.  The 
same  was  unanimously  received,  and  a  vote  of  thanks 
tendered  the  donor,  of  which  last  I  hereby  inform 
you  at  the  request  of  the  secretary,  who  duly  made 
record  accordingly.  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
hang  the  picture  in  some  suitable  position  in  the 
lodge  rooms.  Informing  Mr.  Kenyon  of  the  occur- 
rence, he  has  requested  me  to  write  a  few  lines  for 


45 

publication    in    The  Poiduluiu,    Avliich    I   liave   just 
complied  with. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain, 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

M.  M.  Reynolds. 

A  Temperanxe  Man. — As  was  indicated  on  a  pre" 
vious  page,  Mr.  Sherman  was  ever  a  strong  and  de- 
termined advocate  of  temperance.  Publicly  and 
privately  he  threw  all  the  weight  of  his  pen  and  of 
his  influence  on  the  side  of  strict  temperance.  But 
he  had  contracted  a  habit  in  his  younger  days  which, 
though  not  generally  regarded  as  in  any  degree  in- 
compatible with  strict  temperance  principles,  became 
to  Jiim,  the  more  he  dwelt  upon  it,  a  matter  of  an- 
noyance and  of  self-irritation,  as  an  injury  to  himself. 
Was  the  use  of  tobacco,  strictly  and  in  the  highest 
sense,  right,  for  a  thorough  temperance  man  and 
a  Christian  ?  Were  smoking  and  chewing  habits 
proper  and  fitting  in  one  who  was  of  necessity  a  con- 
stant example  to  the  young  ?  Was  it  not  true  that 
these  habits  not  unfrequently  led  to  the  positive 
vices  of  drinking  and  dissipation  ?  At  any  rate,  did 
any  good  ever  come  out  of  them  ?  Were  they  not, 
to  say  the  least,  more  evil  than  good  ? 

Questions  like  these  arose  in  the  mind  of  Mr. 
Sherman,  after  he  had  indulged  in  the  use  of  to- 
bacco for  many  years.  But  (questions  like  these, 
once  seriously  entertained  and  considered,  were  with 
him  raised  to  be  settled  7'ight.  He  declared  that  this 
practice  must  cease.  But  a  habit  of  )'ears  is  not  so 
easily  dislodged.     His  first  attempt  failed.     He  tried 


46 

ai^ain  ami  a^ain  ;  the  okl  ami  well  intrenched  indul- 
gence conquered.  He  hnall\-  said  to  himself  that 
here  was  a  thing  that  ought  to  be  done,  and  that 
now  it  should  be  done.  He  would  be  henceforth 
his  own  master.  He  now  conquered,  and  for  thirty 
years  before  his  tleath  he  was  untrammelled  and 
free.  "  He  that  governeth  his  own  spirit  is  greater 
than  he  that  taketh  a  city,"  and  he  that  "keeps  his 
bod\-  under"  is  as  great  as  he  "that  governeth  his 
spirit." 

Fond  ok  Ciiii.i»ki:n. — Scarcely  any  one  thing  re- 
veals more  of  one's  character  than  the  disposition  one 
manifests  towards  children  and  youth.  Mr.  Sherman 
was  very  fond  of  children.  This  explains  in  no  small 
degree  his  great  interest  and  enthusiasm  during  all 
his  life  in  the  Sabbath-school.  This  love  for  little 
people  he  showed  very  decidedly  on  all  occasions. 
When,  in  the  autumn  of  1876,  he  visited  Mount 
Vernon,  Va.,  he  gathered  from  the  ground  a  quan- 
tity of  acorns.  These  he  dispensed  among  the 
children  of  his  mission  Sabbath-school,  giving  every 
member  of  it  at  least  one,  and  some  many  more  ;  at 
the  same  time  he  most  thoughtlully  took  advantage 
of  so  fittinofan  occasion  to  talk  to  the  children  about 
the  good  and  great  Washington,  who  la\-  entombed 
in  the  place  whence  these  nuts  were  brought.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  say  that  lessons  thus  taught  and 
thus  enforced  could  not  soon  die  out  of  the  hearts  of 
the  little  listeners. 

Love  begets  love.     Children  have  keen  instincts. 
They  are  cjuick  to  see  who  love  them,  and  as  quick 


47 

to  return  the  tender  feeling.  Children  soon  learned 
to  love  him.  Says  one  who  knew  him  intimately  and 
well:  "Little  children  were  greatly  attached  to  Mr. 
Sherman.  During  his  sickness,  several  came  to  in- 
quire about  him,  bringing  him  bouquets  of  flowers. 
This  always  touched  and  greatly  delighted  him." 

On  one  occasion  a  company  of  children  were  tell- 
ing one  another  what  they  were  going  to  be  when 
grown  up.  One,  the  son  of  Rev.  Mr.  Rouse,  a  for- 
mer Rector  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Wickford, 
said  :  "  Well,  when  I  am  a  man  I  am  going  to  be 
Mr.  Sherman." 

He  was  exceedingly  attached  to  his  little  grand- 
daughter, "  Daisy."  When  he  "  fell  asleep  "and  she 
was  told  that  he  would  never  waken  again  in  this 
world,  she  ran  for  a  book  and  laid  it  in  his  hands, 
that  he  might,  as  she  said,  pass  his  time  pleasantly 
in  reading  while  on  his  journey. 

She  was  then  only  a  little  over  three  years  old, 
but  she  often  now  recalls  their  warm  mutual  afiec- 
tion.  It  was  to  him  a  moment  of  supreme  delight 
when  first  her  baby  lips  called  him  '"  Bampa." 

Fond  of  Music. — It  is  easy  to  understand  how  a 
person  who  is  fond  of  cliildren  should  also  be  fond 
of  music,  and  of  art,  and  indeed  of  nature,  and  of  all 
things  beautiful.  All  alike  address  the  sensibilities, 
the  tenderer,  richer,  sweeter  faculties  of  the  soul. 
Children,  music,  painting,  statuarw  flowers — tlu^y 
all  alike  belong  to  the  same  blessed  category  of  ob- 
jects which  elicit  the  best  emotions  of  the  human 
soul !      He  who  said,  "  Suffer  little  children  to  come 


48 

unto  inc  and  lorbitl  thcni  not,"  was  also  lond  o(  so?i^, 
and  was  accustomed  in  company  with  his  disciples 
to  jr/;/^'- the  sweet  psalms  of  David.  'When  they 
had  sung  a  hymn  they  went  out." 

It  was  he  also,  who,  in  his  sweet  admiration  of 
Nature  and  Nature's  works,  on  one  occasion  cried 
out,  "  Behold  the  lilies  of  the  field,  they  toil  not, 
neither  do  they  spin,  and  yet  I  say  unto  you  that 
Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of 
these." 

There  is  a  natural  congruity  between  a  fondness 
for  music  and  a  soft  and  kindly  heart  and  disposi- 
tion. "  The  man  that  hath  not  music  in  himself,  nor 
is  not  moved  with  concord  of  sweet  sounds,  is  fit  for 
treason,  stratagem,  and  spoils.  Let  no  such  man 
be  trusted." 

Mr.  Sherman  was  not  only  excessively  fond  of 
music,  but  he  was  accustomed  himself  not  unfre- 
quently  to  engage  in  the  delightful  exercise  of  sing- 
ing, whether  as  pastime  or  as  devotion.  He  was  a 
good  singer,  and  when  he  sang  he  seemed  to  be  en- 
gaged to  the  very  centre  and  core  of  his  being. 
Singing,  as  an  element  of  public  worship,  in  the 
honor  of  God,  was  to  him  ever  a  peculiar  and  su- 
preme delight.  Singing  the  sweet  songs  of  Israel, 
in  the  conference  room,  was  also  always  a  great 
solace  and  a  joy. 

One  Sunday  morning,  during  his  sickness  in 
Rutland,  he  remarked  that  he  should  like  to  hear 
the  chapelites  sing,  referring  to  his  mission  church 
at  home.      He  was  told   that  the  doors  should  be 


49 

opened  to  the  parlor,  that  the  i)iano  should  be 
opened,  and  that  they  would  sino^.  This  beini^  done, 
he  said  to  the  nurse  :  "This  is  heavenly.  It  lifts  me 
up."  The  next  morning-  he  remarked  to  Mrs. 
Sherman  that  he  should  be  very  glad  if  she  and 
Mr.  Reed  (the  nurse,  who  was  a  very  fine  singer,) 
would  go  to  the  parlor  and  sing  again.  Again  he 
was  thrilled  with  the  delightful  melody  of  sacred 
song".  His  spirit  was  borne  aloft  as  on  wings  of 
holy  triumph,  and  he  expressed  the  thought  that 
if  another  opportunity  was  ever  offered  him,  he 
could  dilate,  from  joyous  experience,  and  as  never 
before,  on  the  grandeur  and  glory  of  the  Christian  s 
faith  and  the  Christian's  hope — the  blessed  inheri- 
tance of  the  saints  of  God. 

Mr.  Sherman  was  fond  of  instrumental  as  well  as 
of  vocal  music.  He  keenly  enjoyed  the  piano,  and 
not  unfrequently  called  for  some  piece  of  music  at 
the  skilful  touch  of  his  music-loving  wife. 

He  was  himself  no  indifferent  player  on  the  violin 
and  the  flute;  and  when  the  labor  of  the  day  was 
over,  and  he  was  at  liberty  to  sit  down  at  home  in 
the  quiet  of  the  evening-  hour,  he  would  accomi)any 
Mrs.  Sherman  on  the  piano  with  one  of  the  above- 
mentioned  instruments,  entering  into  the  perform- 
ance with  great  zeal  and  enthusiasm. 

Fond  of  Home. — Judge  Sherman,  of  Pru\idence, 
once  remarked  to  a  gentleman  who  was  iiKjuiring  for 
Mr.  Sherman  :  "  If  you  wish  to  see  William  Sher- 
man, you  must  look  for  him  at  his  home.  You  will 
never  find  him  lounging  in  stores,  and  at  street  cor- 

4 


;o 


ncrs,  in([uirin^"  the  news,  and  hokling"  forth  on  [loliti- 
cal  questions." 

A  gentleman,  on  readinj^- tlie  newspaper  notices  of 
hini  after  his  death,  remarked  :  "  And  nothing  about 
his  ha{)py  family  relations,  which  were  so  delightful!" 

Having  once  learned  that  Mr.  Sherman  was  a 
lover  of  art,  music,  and  children,  one  can  easily  un- 
derstand that  he  would  be  also  a  lover  of  honic.  Such 
he  was,  and  as  such  he  made  it  a  point  to  make  home 
pleasant  and  attractive.  Everything  in  and  about 
his  home  was  neat,  cleanly,  and  in  good  order.  The 
grounds  were  ever  nicely  kept,  the  trees  and  shrub- 
bery always  well  trimmed  and  cared  for,  and  every- 
where there  was  an  air  of  order,  nicety,  and  comfort. 
Within  were  papers  and  periodicals  of  all  descrip- 
tions, and  a  large  and  well-filled  library.  Here,  also, 
and  s\'mpathizing  with  him  in  all  his  labors — indeed, 
rather,  may  we  say,  an  efficient  co -laborer  with  him 
in  all  his  benevolent,  charitable,  and  religious  enter- 
prises — was  the  one  spirit  in  whom  of  all  earthly  be- 
ings his  soul  most  delighted.  Here  was  his  only  child, 
who,  educated  and  cultured,  had  in  early  life  given 
herself  to  his  own  faith,  his  own  church,  and  his  own 
Lord  and  Saviour.  Here,  at  evening  and  ready  for 
his  use,  were  his  fiute,  and  his  violin,  and  his  piano, 
with  skilful  fino-ers  for  its  touch.  Having  made  for 
himself  such  a  home,  it  is  not  hard  to  understand 
that  he  should  richly  enjo)'  it. 

This  fondness  for  and  appreciation  ot  iiome  ex- 
plains the  following  remark  of  his  companionable 
wife,  who,  speaking  of  his  confinement  to  the  house 


51 

by  sickness,  said  :  "  The  quiet  companionship  en- 
joyed during  the  weeks  and  months  after  he  was  con- 
fined to  his  room  in  Rutland  will  ever  be  cherished 
as  sacred  memories." 

Mrs.  Sherman  had  the  entire  care  of  hini  until 
about  a  month  before  his  death.  When  he  became  too 
feeble  to  help  himself,  a  nurse  was  called  in  to  assist, 
Mrs.  Sherman  never  leavino-  him  for  a  single  nieht. 

A  Vein  of  Humor. — There  was  a  decided  vein 
o{  humor  \w  Mr.  Sherman's  character.  It  manifested 
itself  constantly  in  his  conversation  and  in  his  written 
productions,  and  added  zest  and  sparkle  to  both. 
The  popularity  of  his  articles  as  a  journalist  was  due 
in  no  small  degree  to  this  "  Attic  salt,"  which  sea- 
soned so  largely  all  that  he  wrote. 

Properl)' tempered  by  other  mental  forces,  wit  and 
humor  are  most  valuable  constituents  of  mind.  Their 
presence  has  a  constant  leavening  influence  upon  the 
dull  routine  of  daily  life,  and  infuses  into  the  most  dull 
and  prosy  features  of  it  a  certain  positive  relief  and 
exhilaration.  They  add  not  a  little  to  the  pleasures 
of  home  and  the  fireside,  and  become  thus  most  val- 
uable constituents  of  character.  These  elements  of 
soul  were  present  in  pleasant  proportion  in  the 
make-up  of  Mr.  Sherman. 

A  CiiRiSTi.vN  Man. — Mr.  Sherman  was,  througn 
and  through,  a  Christian  man.  He  was  converted  at 
the  early  age  of  eleven.  He  was  at  this  time  attcMul- 
ing  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  North  Kingston, 
under  the  pastoral  charge  of  his  uncle,  William 
Northup,  to  whom  allusion   has  already  been   made. 


52 

He  did  iu)t  inimcdiatel)-  unite  wiih  tlu'  church,  think- 
ing,  perhaps,  as  so  nianx'  persons  do,  that  he  was  too 
young  to  commit  himseU  to  responsibilities  so  grave. 
He  may  also  have  felt  it  best  to  wait  until  some 
experience  in  life  shoukl  convince  him  that  he  was 
truly  a  regenerated  soul.  He  desired  to  be  con- 
vinced of  his  true  discipleship  before  he  venturetl  to 
assert  himself  a  member  of  Christ's  visible  body. 
However  this  may  be,  he  evidently  did  not  lose  his 
youthful  faith  by  waiting.  As  the  years  went  on, his 
religion  became  to  him  a  more  profound  and  a  more 
precious  conviction.  The  germ  of  spiritual  life  im- 
planted so  early  in  his  soul  took  root  deeper  and 
deeper,  and  its  growth  was  constant  and  decided. 
Accordingly,  in  1838,  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine,  he 
united  with  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Woonsocket. 
I'Vom  this  time  to  the  day  of  his  death  he  kei)t  up 
his  church  connections  with  fc-rvor  and  zeal  wherever 
he  happened  to  live. 

Mr.  Sherman's  religion  was  not  an  empty  profes- 
sion. It  was  not  a  form.  It  was  not  a  Sunday  garb. 
It  did  not  consist  in  going  to  church  and  listening  to 
a  sermon.  It  did  not  occupy  and  exhaust  itself  in 
discussing  theoloijical  knots  and  Biblical-  difficulties. 
It  was  not  an  outside  show  to  win  confidence  and 
respectability.  j\Ir.  Sherman's  faith  was  a  lim:.  It 
was  a  life  that  had  rooted  itself  deep  in  his  soul.  It 
dwelt  there.  It  absorbed  the  strength  of  his  soul. 
When  he  took  possession  of  it,  it  took  possession  of 
him,  and  ever  held  that  possession  firm  and  strong. 
By  its  vigorous  life  and  growth  it  gradually  stran- 


eled  the  native  vices  of  a  sinful  nature,  while  it  itself 
gradually  put  out  the  buds  and  blossoms  of  the 
Christian  i^races  and  charities. 

He  was  not  bisfoted,  but  tolerant  of  the  religrious 
views  of  others.  He  believed  that  there  was  true 
piety  represented  in  all  faiths.  He  loved  indeed  his 
own  denomination,  because  he  was  a  man  of  strong- 
convictions,  and  he  believed  that  the  Baptist  confes- 
sion of  faith  most  nearly  represented  the  teachings  of 
the  New  Testament.  But  while  he  loved  especially 
his  own  particular  form  of  faith,  he  fellowshipped  and 
loved  any  and  every  soul  in  whom  he  could  discern 
the  spiritual  lineaments  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
To  him  piety  was  better  than  profession,  love  than 
creed,  and  charity  than  church,  and  he  who  truly 
possessed  these,  in  whatever  fold  of  the  Shepherd, 
won  his  esteem  and  his  affection. 

A  religion  that  is  a  lifc\s  never  inactive.  It  e\er 
finds  something  to  do.  In  a  w^orld  of  ini(iuit\'  it 
finds  the  bad  to  reclaim  ;  in  a  world,  of  intemperance 
it  finds  inebriates  to  reform  ;  in  a  world  of  igno- 
rance it  finds  people  to  educate  ;  in  a  world  ot  pov- 
erty it  finds  misery  to  relieve  ;  in  a  world  of  lost 
sinners  it  finds  souls  to  save.  Along  all  these  linens, 
a  true  religion  finds  always  and  everywhere  some- 
thing to  do.  Seeing  everywhere  these  pitiable 
scenes  among  men,  the  true  Christian  can  never  look 
on,  an  idle  beholder.  I  !(■  must  put  forth  a  helloing 
hand.  Such  did  Mr.  Sherman  in  all  these  direc- 
tions. 

"  Pure  reli'don  and  undefiled  before  God  and  the 


54 

I-'athcr  is  lliis,  to  \isit  the  fatherless  and  the  witlow  in 
their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted  from 
the  world." 

It  will  be  seen,  further  on,  what  claims  Mr.  Sher- 
man had  to  be  reoarded,  under  the  above  rule,  as 
one  who  possessed  "  pure  religion  and  undetiled  be- 
fore God  and  the  Father." 

RiHLE  Reading. — Mr.  Sherman  was  a  close  student 
of  the  Bible.  To  him,  from  boyhood,  the  Bible  was 
indeed  the  Book  of  Books.  Naturally  of  a  strong 
religious  bent,  he  had,  in  early  life,  been  deepl)'  im- 
pressed by  the  preaching  of  his  Uncle  Northup,  to 
whom  reference  bas  been  made. 

While  at  Wickford,  and  waiting  for  returning 
health,  he  read  four  entire  volumes  of  the  "  Com- 
prcJicnsivc  Commentary  of  t/ie  Bi'b/c."  The  volumes 
contain  about  one  thousand  pages  each,  and  all  the 
reading  matter  except  the  text  itself  is  printed  in 
small  type.  Conversant  and  familiar  with  the  Scrip- 
tures himself,  he  greatly  enjoyed  conversation  and 
discussion  on  sacred  themes.  He  therefore  sought 
the  society  of  clergymen  and  religious  teachers  and 
thinkers.  His  house  was  often  opened  for  the  en- 
tertainment of  ministers.  Indeed,  as  one  acquainted 
with  the  fact  has  said,  "  His  house,  from  the  time  he 
commenced  housekeeping  until  the  day  of  his  death, 
might  well  be  called  a  minister's  hotel,  so  frequently 
were  clergymen  entertained  over  night  and  at  other 
times."  One  clergyman,  an  agent  of  the  Bible  So- 
ciety, spent  Sabbath  da)'  with  him  once  each  year, 
rfor  twelve  consecutive  years.      This  man,  as  being 


the  representative  of  religious  service,  was  always 
welcome,  and  more  than  welcome,  and  would  have 
been  if  the  twelve  had  continued  to  twelve  times 
twelve. 

These  visits  from  men  of  God  made  red-letter 
days  for  him,  because  of  his  fondness  for  religious, 
theological,  and  Biblical  discussions.  He  used  to  say 
that  ministers  always  paid  their  way  in  the  delight- 
ful conferences  and  conversations  of  which  ihey 
were  thus  the  occasion.  Young  clergymen,  students 
from  the  colleges  and  theological  seminaries,  stopping 
with  him  over  Sunday  to  preach  at  Marlboro'  Chapel, 
often  expressed  themselves  as  pleased  with  an  op- 
portunity of  conversing  with  one  so  thoroughly  versed 
in  a  knowledcje  of  the  sacred  writincrs.  Some  of 
the  students,  on  leaving  the  neighboring  academy, 
expressed  their  gratitude  and  obhgation  to  him  for 
the  encouragement  and  assistance  he  had  rendered 
them. 

As  the  chapel  was  without  a  pastor,  ]\Ir.  Sherman 
usually  conducted  the  regular  Wednesday  evening 
prayer-meeting.  For  this  service  he  made  special 
preparation  for  the  opening  introductory  remarks. 
These  are  said,  by  those  who  listened,  to  have  been 
always  of  a  most  interesting  and  practical  character. 
On  one  occasion,  at  the  close  of  an  evening  meet- 
ing, Deacon  V.,  who  was  present,  remarked  that 
"  Mr.  Sherman's  appeal  that  evening  was  one  ot  the 
strongest  he  ever  heard," 

Mr.  Sherman  was  asked  to  be  ordained  as  a 
deacon,  but  he  declined  to  accede  to  this  request.. 


56 

Many  people,  liowever,  seem  to  ha\e  been  accus- 
tomed to  think  of  hini  as  a  clerijNnian.  A  \'Ounof 
man  came  to  his  liouse  one  day  and  inquired  it 
Elder  Sherman  lived  there.  On  being  told  that 
JMr.  Sherman  resided  there,  he  seemed  greatly  sur- 
prised and  perplexed,  sa)ing-  :  "  W'liy,  isn't  he  a 
minister  ?  Doesn't  he  preach  sometimes  ?  He  con- 
ducts religious  serv^ices  occasionally,  does  he  not  ?  " 
And  then,  looking  up,  with  eyes  full  of  curiosity  and 
mingled  anxiety,  he  said  :  ''  W'^ell,  now,  to  whom 
shall  I  cro  ?     I  desire  to  be  married." 

Kind  to  the  Poor  and  the  Suffeking. — The 
suffering,  the  poor,  and  the  needy  found  in  him  a 
ready  and  s)-mpathizing  friend.  He  often  extended 
the  hand  of  help  and  cliarity  to  the  unfortunate. 
He  frequently  aided  by  material  means  those  who 
were  wishinof  but  were  unable  to  establish  themselves 
in  business. 

Long  will  he  be  missed  in  the  streets  of  East 
Greenwich,  which  so  many  years  he  made  his  home, 
and  which  in  so  many  wa\s  he  benefited  alike  b\- 
private  charities  to  its  poor,  and  by  public  benefac- 
tions to  its  educational  and  religious  institutions, 
contributing  ever  to  its  needs,  and  endeavoring  to 
elevate  its  citizenshij).  alike  with  his  j)en  and  his 
purse,  and  in  constant  personal  effort  in  scores  ol 
other  methods. 

Pleasant  and  inspiring  memories  are  these  of  a 
noble  and  unselfish  life;  of  a  soul  instinct  with  the 
needs  and  wants  of  humanity,  and  a  disposition  and 
a  will  ready  ever  to  lend  a  helping  hand.      He  evi- 


57 

dently  felt  the  force  of  Edward  Everett  Hale's  beau- 
tiful motto  in   Toi   Times  Ten  : 

"  Look  up  and  not  down, 
Look  forward  and  not  backward. 
And  lend  a  helping  hand." 

His  charities  were  not  of  the  kind  which  occur  only 
on  great  occasions  and  then  "  blow  a  trumpet  be- 
fore them."  But  springing-  from  a  Christian  life  and 
Christian  principle,  from  that  fountain  whence  only 
and  ever  they  spring  in  purity  and  in  moral  beauty, 
they  found  their  way,  quietly  and  without  demon- 
stration, flowing  into  those  channels  where  it  seemed 
to  liim  they  could  accomplish  the  most  of  good. 

Feeline.  as  the  true  Christian  alone  can  feel,  that 
he  himself  had  been  the  subject  of  infinite  charity, 
love,  and  grace  in  Christ's  great  redemption  work  for 
him  ;  feeling  that  all  he  most  prized  on  earth,  and  all 
that  he  most  hoped  for  in  the  lifebe)ond,  was  to  him 
a  pure  gift  of  divine  love  and  grace,  his  heart  had 
been  deeply  and  profoundly  touched,  and  he  desired 
to  make  some  small  return  for  all  those  infinite  lov- 
ing favors  and  blessings. 

The  Communion  Service. — In  this  view  we  can 
easily  understand  how  it  was  that  the  Conununic^i 
service,  that  sacred  ordinance  which,  more  than  any 
other  known  to  the  Church,  commemorates  the  love, 
condescension,  the  self-denial,  and  the  self-sacrifice 
of  our  Lord,  was  to  him  an  occasion  of  inexpressible 
solemnity  and  sacredness,  and  of  the  most  tender  and 
profound  devotional   experiences.      He  ever  seemed 

5 


5S 

to  feci  on  these  occasions  that  the  Saviour  was  espe- 
cially near  to  him.  With  him  it  was  ever  true  dur- 
ing tliis  memorial  service.  "  As  oft  as  ye  do  it,  do  it 
/;/  7-c))ic)}ibrancc  of  mcy 

It  was  that  remembrance  deepened  and  inten- 
sified that  oathered   out  of  the   streets  children  for 

O 

the  Sabbath-school,  that  instituted  the  ''  Shore  meet- 
ings," that  established  the  colored  school  at  his  own 
house,  that  built  INIarlboro'  Chapel,  that  extended  so 
often  to  the  needy  the  hand  of  charity.  "As  oft  as 
ye  do  it  unto  them,  ye  do  it  unto  me." 

The  Sadbath  Day. — The  subject  of  these  me- 
moirs believed  fully  in  the  old  New  England  Sab- 
bath. He  felt  that  the  command  of  the  old  Mosaic 
Decalogue  was  still  binding,  and  accordingly  he 
telt  it  his  dut)'  to  observe  in  all  its  fulness  of  mean- 
ing the  command,  "  Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to 
keep  it  holy."  He  was  not  superstitious.  His  good 
common  sense  could  distinoruish  between  faith  and 
credulity,  between  religion  and  superstition.  But 
the  reading  of  the  Bible  to  him  was  clear  and  explicit, 
that  Sunday  is  "  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord,"  and  that 
it  was  to  be  divided,  severed  completely  in  character 
and  observance,  from  the  other  days  of  the  week. 
All  unnecessary  work,  all  business,  all  recreation  and 
amusement  was  now  to  be  put  aside.  The  day  must 
be  devoted  to  quiet,  to  religious  or  instructive  secu- 
lar reading,  and  to  worship. 

As  an  illustration  of  his  regard  for  the  Sabbath, 
the  following  incident  is  full  of  significance  :  When 
livinof  in  Wickford.  a  creditor  of  his,  who  owed  him 


59 

a  sum  of  money,  came  ajourne)'  of  several  miles  on 
the  Sabbath  to  make  settlement.  Mr.  Sherman  re- 
fused to  accept  the  money,  saying  that  there  were 
other  days  in  the  week  in  which  to  settle  accounts. 

The  Sabbath-school  was  a  fu;Id  of  Christian  la- 
bor in  which  Mr.  Sherman  took  very  great  delight. 
Among  the  very  first  things  he  did  on  his  removal 
to  Woonsocket  was  to  gather  up  out  of  the  streets 
and  the  lanes  of  the  village,  "  out  of  the  highways 
and  the  hedges,"  the  idle,  outcast,  Sabbath-breaking 
children  roaminir  the  streets  listlesslv,  or  in  search 
of  mischief,  rao-aed  wretches  for  whom,  in  their  deer. 
radation  and  poverty,  no  one  seemed  to  have  any 
pity  or  sympathy.  He  looked  upon  these  little  \ag- 
abonds,  unattractive,  sometimes  uncleanly,  and  some- 
times even  repulsive  in  their  exterior,  and  looking 
deeper  than  upon  the  mere  outside,  he  saw  in  them 
minds  and  souls  made  of  the  same  material  as  his 
own — saw  within  tlieir  rougli  exteriors  the  germs  of 
eternal  being,  germs  of  infinite  worth,  and  capacities 
for  infinite  development — souls  immortal  ;  however 
buried  now  in  external  unsightliness  and  squalor, 
yet.  after  all,  souls  immortal,  all  the  same,  for  whom 
Christ  died. 

MissioNARV  Work. — He  at  once  secured  the  use 
of  a  neighboring  school-house,  and  so  far  as  he  was 
able  he  gathered  therein  and  formed  into  a  Sabbath- 
school  these  little  neglected  waifs,  heretofore  un- 
known and  uncared  for  1))-  the  Church  of  Christ. 

The  school  thus  formed,  he  did  not  leave  to  the 
care  of  others,  considering  now  his  duty  done.     On 


6o 

the  contrar)-,  callin*^^  in  the  aid  and  co-operation  of 
his  excellent  mission-loving  Christian  wife,  he  care- 
fully tended  and  nursed  his  charge  until  it  grew  into 
a  strong  organization  of  some  three  hundred  mem- 
bers, embodxing  now  ali  kinds  and  conditions  of 
children  and  youth.  This  organization  thus  com- 
menced was  afterwards  received  under  the  .  protec- 
tion, care  and  guardianship  of  the  Baptist  Church  of 
Woonsocket,  and  continues  to  exist  to-day,  the 
flourishing  Sabbath-school  of  that  society. 

1  his  strong  interest  in  the  relicrious  education  of 
children,  and  especiall)' of  the  neglected  classes,  con- 
tinued to  manifest  itself  most  conspicuously  in  his 
character  wherever  he  made  his  home.  In  Wick- 
ford,  and  afterwards  at  Greenwich,  he  showed  the 
same  intense  interest  in  these  directions. 

Shore  Meetings. — On  one  occasion,  while  in 
Greenwich,  happening  to  go  of  a  Sunday  down  to 
the  wharves  along  the  shore,  and  seeing  there  a  list- 
less company  of  men  and  bo)s  smoking,  playing, 
and  in  various  ways  desecrating  the  Sabbath,  his 
sympathies  were  at  once  stirred  within  him  as  in 
Woonsocket  before,  and  he  began  to  cast  about  to 
see  what  could  be  done.  He  saw  at  once  that  many 
of  them,  bein<r  erown  men,  could  not  be  induced 
to  go  within  the  circle  of  any  Sabbath-school.  He 
therefore  decided  that,  inasmuch  as  he  could  not 
get  them  to  come  to  him  within  the  inclosure  of  the 
walls  of  church  or  chapel,  he  must  go  to  them  if  he 
would  do  them  an\-  good.  He  accordingly  insti- 
tuted what  were  afterwards  knowMi  as  "The  Shore 


6i 


Meetincjs."  To  these  outdoor  ratherinors  laree 
numbers  of  these  low,  rough  people,  old  and  young 
alike,  came,  and  were  thus  brought  for  the  first  time 
in  their  life  under  Christian  influences,  and  under 
the  sound  of  direct  Gospel  preaching.  Good  was 
accomplished  in  these  shore  meetings.  The  good 
seed  was  scattered,  and  some,  there  and  then,  were 
induced  to  lead  a  nobler  and  better  life  ;  but  the  full 
result,  the  complete  harvest,  can  be  known  only  when 
in  the  last  day  the  "  reapers  shall  be  the  angels." 

Here,  as  elsewhere,  Mr.  Sherman  not  only  worked 
himself,  but  he  also  secured  the  help  of  others, 
whose  sympathies  he  was  enabled  to  enlist  in  the 
good  cause. 

He  was  himself  very  effective  in  his  method  of 
reaching  people,  and  in  the  presentation  of  religious 
truth.  •  He  was  familiar  with  the  Scriptures  ;  he  be- 
lieved them  with  all  his  heart  ;  he  knew  human  na- 
ture, also,  and  how  to  bring  the  former  to  bear  upon 
the  latter.  Of  this  fact  the  following  little  incident 
will  serve  as  an  illustration  : 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Richardson,  who  was  pastor  of  the 
Baptist  Church  in  Rutland,  and  with  whom  he  en- 
joyed a  pleasant  acquaintance,  was  accustomed  to 
visit  him.  His  first  visit,  which  was  during  Mr. 
Sherman's  sickness,  was  on  Thursday  afternoon,  be- 
fore the  regular  prayer-meeting  of  his  church.  He 
said  to  Mr.  Sherman's  daughter,  "  I  took  your 
father's  remarks  in  the  evening  meeting  and  made 
them  the  topic  for  our  evening  service,  and  we  had 
the  best  meeting  that  I  ever  attended.     Even   old 


62 


Deacon  M.,  who  has  passed  throLiL;li  man)-  revivals^ 
was  melted  to  tears." 

Coi.ORKD  Mission  School.  —  Of  his  constant 
Christian  sympathy  for  and  interest  in  the  poor  and 
the  neglected,  there  are  abundant  illustrations.  In  all 
this  it  should  be  noted  that  he  ever  found  in  Mrs. 
Sherman  a  most  willing  and  (-nthusiastic  helper.  As 
they  were  united  Christian  copartners  in  faith,  so 
also  were  they  united  and  active  copartners  in  every 
form  of  Christian  and  missionary  work  and  labor. 
The  writer  remembers  well  the  little  gathering 
which  used  to  occupy  regularly,  Sunday  evenings, 
one  or  two  rooms  in  the  basement  of  Rose  Cottage, 
for  religious  converse  and  instruction.  It  was  com- 
posed entirely  of  colored  people.  It  was  most 
deliehtful  to  note  their  interest  and  enthusiasm  in 
these  religious  exercises, — to  hear  them  talk  and 
testify,  and  then  to  hear  them  sing  so  grandl)-  and 
feelingly,  "  making  melody  in  their  heart  unto  the 
Lord."  These  colored  gatherings  were  productive 
of  great  good,  and  are,  among  these  people,  most 
gratefully  remembered  unto  this  day. 

The  following  letter,  read  at  the  Baptist  S.  S.  Con- 
vention, will  further  indicate  the  character,  growth, 
and  religious  value  of  these  colored  Sabbath-school 
and  conference  gatherings. 

To  tlic  Rhode  Island  Baptist  Sabbath-school  Convention, 
the  Little  Mission  School  and  Bible  Class  of  East 
Greeinvich  send  greet i u i^  : 

Christians  :  This  little  scliool  was  formed  Feb- 
ruary I,  1866,   and  has  increased  from   3  little  col- 


63 

ored  girls  to  8i  scholars.  It  is,  and  always  has  been, 
held  in  our  own  dwelling  house,  and  was  cfathcred  in 
by  and  received  only  the  care  and  instructions  of 
Mrs.  Sherman,  She  has  labored  in  the  cause  with 
great  zeal,  and  has  had  the  real  pleasure  of  seeing 
the  Lord's  work  prosper  among  these  humble  ones 
under  her  untiring  efforts. 

In  December,  1868,  the  writer,  in  connection  witli 
the  school,  in  the  same  rooms,  gathered  a  Bible  class 
from  the  "  highways  and  hedges  "  of  our  vicinity,  a 
number  of  the  class  being  contrabands.  On  this 
class  book  we  have  enrolled  the  names  of  153  indi- 
viduals— 65  being  the  largest  number  present  on  any 
one  Sabbath.  From  our  2  classes  9  of  our  numl:)er 
have  united  with  different  churches  since  the  com- 
mencement of  the  present  year — 7  by  baptism  and 
2  by  experience.  Others  have  desired  the  prayers 
of  the  class,  and  profess  a  love  for  the  cause,  and 
have  their  faces  heavenward.  We  have  men  and 
women  of  talent  in  our  class — persons  of  deep-toned 
piety — and  this  piety  has  often  been  beautifully  ex- 
hibited at  the  close  of  our  lessons  by  a  transforma- 
tion from  a  Bible  class  into  a  prayer-meeting.  Many 
of  these  persons  are  contrabands,  and  they  exert  a 
Qfood  influence  over  their  colored  friends  and  others. 
Once  a  month  the  lesson  is  omitted  and  the  time  is 
spent  in  pra)er  and  conference.  We  have  also  a 
service  of  praise  for  a  half  hour  or  more  at  the  close 
of  every  evening's  exercises.  The  singing  is  often- 
times heavenly.  The  notes  of  Canaan  from  the  lips 
of  these  deeply  devoted  ones  have  the  true  spirit  of 


64 

melody.     The  sacred  old  songs  of  the  sunny  South 
are  often  sung  with  a  soul -stirring  and  happy  effect. 

Had  we  time  to  write,  and  the  Convention  time 
to  listen,  we  could  give  scores  of  interesting  and 
even  thrilling  facts  connected  with  our  classes,  but 
as  we  are  )et  strangers  to  the  State  Sabbath  School 
Convention,  we  will  not  claim  an  undue  portion  of 
its  valuable  time. 

Perhaps,  however,  we  ought  to  say  that  we  circu- 
late  Sabbath-school    and  temperance  papers  freely. 
We  feel  that  God  is  doing  a  good  work  through  us. 
To  Him  and  Him  alone  be  all  the  glory. 
In  behalf  of  the  Mission, 

W.     N.    Slir.RMAN. 

Marlboro'  Chapel. — But  what  Mr.  Sherman  was 
accomplishing  in  these  limited  quarters,  less  system- 
atically and  successfully  and  permanently  than  from 
the  nature  of  the  case  was  his  wish,  he  was  now 
preparing  to  accomplish  in  another  jjlace  much  more 
to  his  satisfaction. 

At  his  own  expense,  and  at  a  cost  of  about 
S5,ooo,  in  a  religiousl\-  neglected  part  of  the  town 
he  now  built  a  chapel,  for  the  free  worship  of  all, 
black  or  white,  high  or  low,  rich  or  })Oor,  who  might 
choose  to  come  in.  There,  as  soon  as  com[jleted,  he 
now  instituted  a  Sabbath-school,  with  full  equipment 
of  teachers,  library,  etc.  To  this  also  was  now  trans- 
ferred the  Mission  Sabbath-school  of  colored  people, 
which  for  seven  years  had  been  accustomed  to  as- 
semble at  his  own   house.      Here,  mainh-  at  his  own 


65 

private  expense,  he  instituted  and  sustained  the 
regular  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  from  this  time  until 
the  day  of  his  death,  a  period  of  many  years. 

The  chapel,  capable  of  seating  about  three  hun- 
dred persons,  was  well  attended.  Scores  of  souls 
were  converted,  and  a  church  was  formed.  The 
character  of*  the  w^ork  and  how  it  was  blessed  may 
be  gathered  from  one  or  two  simple  incidents  in 
connection  with  the  same.  A  poor  widow  who  had 
not  been  to  church  for  over  forty  years  was  in- 
duced to  attend  these  chapel  meetings.  She  be- 
came interested,  became  anxious  about  herself, 
was  converted,  and  developed  into  a  consecrated 
and  active  Christian.  Again,  a  man  and  his  wife 
who  had  been  intemperate,  and  had  not  been  to 
church  for  tw'enty-four  years,  came  to  the  chapel, 
and  were  converted.  This  new  church  is  men- 
tioned in  the  recently  published  history  of  the  town. 
It  was  known  as  a  Mission  Church.  There  was  no 
regular  pastorate,  but  supplies  were  regularly  se- 
cured from  other  churches,  and  from  academies 
and  colleges,  of  students  preparing  for  the  ministry. 
It  was  indeed,  as  its  name  indicates,  a  free  church — 
as  free  in  form  of  faith,  if  that  faith  was  orthodox,  as 
it  was  free  in  sittings  ;  consequently  ministers  of  all 
evangelical  denominations  were  welcomed  to  its  \n\\- 
pit.  This  freedom  of  religous  belief  was  not  per- 
mitted, however,  to  degenerate  into  license.  Its 
membership  was  composed,  as  was  right,  of  onl\" 
those  who  believed  and  testified  that  the)'  had  ex- 
perienced the  7iczi>  birth,  and  found   full    and   com- 


66 


plete  forgiveness  of  sins  in  the  grace  and  mercy  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

It  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  writer  of  these  memoirs 
to  conduct  the  pulpit  exercises  here  on  several  occa- 
sions. It  was  to  him  always  a  most  delightful  task. 
The  people  were  always  orderly  and  attentive,  and 
showed  by  look  and  manner  that  they  had  come  to 
church  for  the  purpose  of  true  worship,  and  of 
receivinor  religious  instruction. 

Meetings  have  been  sustained  here  for  the  greater 
part  of  the  time  since  the  decease  of  Mr.  Sherman. 
During  one  year,  under  the  preaching  of  a  student 
from  the  academy,  some  twenty  conversions  were 
reported. 

The  following  extract  from  a  report  to  the  Baptist 
Convention  will  indicate  more  fully  what  this  church, 
an  enterprise  of  Marboro  Chapel,  was  and  had  been 
accomplishing. 

"  The  tenth  anniversary  of  our  school  was  held 
Saturday  evening,  February  5,  1870.  It  was  re- 
ported that  over  fifty  families  connected  with  the 
school  since  its  commencement  had  removed  from 
the  town.  Total  number  of  baptisms  in  the  school 
since  its  commencement,  forty-two.  Two  of  the 
members  sfathered  in  had  not  attended  church  for 
more  than  twenty  )'ears,  and  one  for  nearly  forty 
years.  Our  oldest  scholar  is  seventy-five  years  old. 
A  beloved  teacher,  Mrs.  Gracie  D.  Fish,  died  in 
March,  in  full  hope  of  an  abundant  entrance  into 
rest.  Our  last  two  concerts  were  held  on  Saturday 
evenings  with   large  congregations,  and  we  like  it 


67 

better  than  on  Sunday  evenings,  as  it  does  not  en- 
croach upon  our  regular  Sabbath  worship.  We 
have  learned  '  to  labor  and  to  wait.'"  The  largest 
number  of  scholars  at  one  time  at  the  mission  school 
at  the  chapel  was  one  hundred  and  eleven. 

Daughter's    Conversion. — He    that    giveth    re- 
ceiveth  full  measure,  pressed  down  and  running  over. 
"  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive."     Was 
it  an  illustration  of  this  ever-beautiful  and  ever-true 
teachino-  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  so  faithfully  preached 
in  this  newly  erected  chapel,  now  consecrated  to  the 
worship  of  God,  that  when  doing  for  others,  we  are 
always  most  effectually  doing  for  ourselves  ?     Was 
it  a  most  pleasant  fulfilment  of  this   Bible  promise, 
that  the  only  daughter  of  the  founder  of  this  reli- 
o-ious  charity  was  the  very  first  to  find  and  make 
her  own  in  this  very  chapel  that  Christ  whom  her 
father  had  worshipped  for  so  many  years,  and  whom 
he    now,   with    a    yet    more  consecrated    faith,  was 
trying  to  honor  and  serve  within  these  walls,  which 
he  had  erected  as  a  loving  benefaction  alike  to  the 
lowly  poor  and  to  his  God  ?     At  any  rate  such  a 
blessed  fulfilnient  there  was,  and  as  the  happy  father 
now  looked  upon  his  only  child  and  saw  her  in  the 
freshness  and  fervor  of  youth  consecrating  her  life 
to  the  same  church,  to  the  same  faith,  and  to  the 
same  glorious  cause  for  which  he  had  been  laboring 
for  well-nigh  fifty  years,  we  may  well  believe  that  he 
felt  that  he  had  found  a  reward  sufficient,  yes.  am- 
ple beyond  the  power  of  language  to  express,  for  all 
he  had  done  and  all  he  had  expended  in  the  past. 


68 


•"  He  that  lovctli  me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father, 
and  I  will  love  \\\va,  ^nd  zuiii  viaiu'fcsf  })iysc/f  u?ito 
him. " 

The  Trukst  Haitinkss. — True  it  is  beyond  ques- 
tion that  the  highest  and  truest  happiness  comes 
from  doine  crood.  Not  when  we  work  for  ourselves, 
but  when  we  labor  for  others,  are  we  most  truly 
blessed.  On  the  occasion  of  the  opening"  of  the 
chapel  for  public  worship,  Rev.  Mr.  Aldrich,  who 
was  present  and  took  part  in  the  services,  re- 
marked :  "  How  heavenly  Mr.  Sherman  has  looked 
all  day."  Many  others  noted  the  same  thing,  while 
one  Christian  friend  remarked  to  Mr.  Sherman  : 
"  Well,  brother,  this  is  )our  coronation  day,  isn't  it?  " 
Yes,  and  that  crown,  a  crown  of  unfading  amaranth 
and  gold  he  now  wears,  where  now  he  lives,  and 
loves,  and  serves  as  king  and  high  priest  in  the  eter- 
nal temple  of  his  Father  and  his  God. 

Newspaper  Notices. — The  following  notices  of 
Marlboro  Chapel  from  the  local  papers  will  be  of  in- 
terest, in  this  connection  : 

[From  the  Providence  Journal.^ 

Opening  of  Marlboro  Street  Ciiapee. — This 
new  and  beautiful  edifice,  built  solely  by  the  liber- 
ality of  W.  N.  Sherman,  of  The  Pendulum,  was 
opened  on  last  Sunday  afternoon  as  a  free  church. 
The  introductory  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  G.  M. 
Alvord,  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and  the  introduc- 
tory sermon  was  preached  b\-  Rev.  Justus  Aldrich. 
The  chapel  was  crowded  with  attentive  hearers,  and 


I 


69 

also  in  the  evening  the  house  was  packed.  The 
whole  congregation  sang  some  of  those  good  old 
tunes  and  blessed  words  such  as  our  fathers  and 
mothers  used  to  sing,  accompanied  by  the  sweet 
notes  of  a  fine  organ,  the  fruits  of  Mr.  Sherman's 
liberality.  The  chapel  is  a  very  fine  building,  and 
under  the  control  of  its  proprietor  it  will  be  not  only 
an  ornament,  but  a  blessing  to  the  town.  The  poor 
here  have  the  Gospel  preached  to  them. 


[From    the    Providence    Golden    Rule,    under    date   of   August    i6, 

1873.1 

The  Free  Church  at  Greenwich. 

Last  Sabbath  we  were  at  Greenwich,  R.  I.,  and 
there  we  found  a  Free  Church.  At  an  expense 
of  some  $5,000,  Mr.  Sherman,  of  The  Pendnhun, 
about  a  year  ago  purchased  a  site  and  built  upon 
it  a  church.  Not  far  from  it  is  his  residence,  and 
for  nine  months  now  by  himself,  together  with  Mrs. 
Sherman,  his  wife,  has  all  the  cares  and  responsi- 
bilities of  even  the  menial  labor  of  the  same  been 
looked  after  and  met.  They  ring  their  own  bell  for 
services  and  pay  all  tlie  bills  of  expense  for  them, 
whatever  they  may  be. 

In  speaking  of  it  they  say  it  is  ?i  Mission  ChiircJi  ; 
and  the  undertaking  in  the  first  place,  as  now,  has 
been  for  the  purpose  of  saving,  if  possible,  those  who 
are  not  much  in  the  habit  of  attending  the  house  of 
Divine  worship,  anywhere  or  at  any  time. 

In  looking  over  their  town  they  found  that  there 


70 

were  many  who  would  be  glad  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  opportunity  of  hearing  the  word  of  God  on 
Sunday,  but,  for  reasons  which  they  would  not  care 
to  give  to  the  world  perhaps,  they  could  not  do  so. 

And  so  these  noble-hearted  Christians  have  taken 
the  work  in  hand  and  prosecuted,  with  a  zeal  worthy 
of  their  hiofh  callinQf  in  Christ  jesus,  the  venture  at 
a  sacrifice  and  a  cost. 

Concerning  the  fruits  of  their  labor,  so  far  they 
are  well  satisfied  that  it  has  not  been  in  vain.  Many 
have  at  their  little  church  found  peace  in  believing. 

Previous  to  starting  the  inissioii,  however,  they 
had  made  it  a  practice  to  gather  in  on  Sabbath,  into 
their  own  house  and  home,  all  such  as  would  come 
to  read  and  hear  read  the  word  of  God.  Here,  too, 
they  were  constantly  encouraged  by  new  accessions 
into  the  fold  of  the  Master's  Kingdom. 

In  the  evening  we  had  the  pleasure  of  telling  in 
our  own  way  the  story  of  the  Cross  to  a  full  house, 
and  on  Monday  morning  we  came  away  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  value  of  such  Christian  souls,  and 
such  free  churches  for  the  people. 

A  Sabbath-school  Superintendent. — Besides 
these  private  mission  labors,  Mr.  Sherman  was  usu- 
ally connected,  generally  in  an  official  capacit}*,  with 
the  Sabbath -school  of  the  church  he  was  accustomed 
to  attend.  Thus  he  was  superintendent  of  Sabbath- 
schools  in  three  different  towns  in  which  he  lived, 
servinof  thus  in  the  aoforreo;ate  for  a  period  of  about 
fifty  years.  His  method  of  work  was  quiet  and  un- 
obtrusive, but  not  the  less  effective  and  salutary. 


71 

He  took  great  pains  with  his  Sabbath-school  con- 
certs, to  make  them  pleasing  and  profitable  to  the 
children,  sometimes  writing  an  original  hymn  or 
poem  to  be  sung  on  these  occasions.  A  gentleman 
from  one  of  the  village  churches,  on  a  certain  occa- 
sion was  present  at  one  of  his  concerts,  and  ex- 
pressed himself  as  greatly  surprised  and  delighted 
at  what  he  saw  and  heard.  The  secret  of  it  all  was 
easy  to  explain.  A  man  who  loved  Sabbath-schools, 
and  who  loved  children,  and  who  loved  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  who  loved  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  who 
saw  in  the  Sabbath-school  the  nursery  of  the  Church 
— a  man  inspired  by  all  these  kindred  loves,  and  will- 
ing to  expend  time,  money,  and  labor  to  secure  the 
end  desired,  could  not  fail  to  produce  something 
beautiful  and  unusual  in  this  line. 

The  following  report,  made  by  the  minister  of 
Marlboro  Chapel  to  the  Rhode  Island  Baptist  Sab- 
bath-school Convention,  will  enable  the  reader  to 
get  a  still  better  conception  of  the  nature  and  value 
of  Mr.  Shernian's  Sabbath-school  services. 

''  In  making  the  annual  report  to  the  Convention, 
it  is  with  deeply  saddened  hearts,  for  two  reasons  : 
First,  because  of  the  death  of  brother  William  N. 
Sherman,  who  was  our  highly  esteemed  and  greatly 
beloved  superintendent  for  more  than  seventeen 
years,  and  whose  loss  to  the  school  is  almost  irrep- 
arable. Secondly,  because  his  protracted  illness 
and  consequent  absence  from  the  school  have  caused 
a  oreat  decline  in  numbers  and  interest.      Mr.  Sher- 


/  - 


man  was  present  in  the  school  but  once  after  the 
I  St  of  July,  1881.  Some  three  or  four  different 
persons  have  assumed  the  position  of  superintend- 
ent, but,  failing  to  sustain  an  interest,  have  become 
discouraged,  and  to-day  we  are  without  a  regular 
superintendent.  Brother  Sherman,  by  his  benevo- 
lent spirit,  earnest  Christian  zeal  and  warm-hearted 
activities  for  the  good  of  others,  was  an  example 
worthy  of  imitation.  He  was  an  indefatigable 
superintendent  and  worker  in  the  Sunday-school  for 
more  than  fifty  years.  The  Woonsocket  Baptist 
School  was  founded  by  him  in  1833. 

''A.  R.  Bradbury, 
"  Minister  of  tJic  Church^ 

After  the  reading  of  the  above  report  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Convention  made  remarks  expressive  of 
the  long  and  valuable  services  of  Mr.  Sherman  in 
the  Sabbath-school  field.  In  a  previous  Sunday- 
school  Convention  before  his  death,  it  was  remarked 
that  he  had  been  a  Sabbath  school  superintendent 
more  years  than  any  other  man  in  the  Convention. 

His  Real  Life  Work. — And  now,  dear  reader, 
what  does  this  all  mean  ?  What  is  the  significance 
of  a  life  like  that  of  him  of  whom  we  write,  spent  so 
lareelv  in  eatherinsf  tos^ether,  and  in  instruct'ncr  in 
the  principles  of  morals  and  religion,  the  children 
and  youth  around  him  ?  Who  shall  estimate  the 
amount  of  good  he  thus  accomplished  1  Who  shall 
tell  how  many  of  these  youth,  of  all  classes  and 
conditions,    white    and    colored,    he    may    have    re- 


claimed  from  ways  of  wickedness  and  vice,  from 
Sabbath  breaking,  profanity,  and  iniquity,  and  by 
bringing  them  into  the  Sabbath-school,  and  into 
the  house  of  God,  have  brought  them  thus  also, 
through  the  agency  of  these  hallowed  influences, 
into  the  straight  and  narrow  way  of  eternal  life  ? 
His  long  services  as  a  public  journalist  were  more 
conspicuous  in  the  public  eye  ;  they  won  to  him 
more  of  reputation  and  social  power  ;  they  added 
largely  to  his  pecuniary  resources  ;  in  the  view  of 
men,  they  constituted  what  he  had  of  success  in 
life.  But  there  are  realms  of  power  and  of  influ- 
ence other  than  those  of  matter,  men  and  money. 
There  is  a  field  where  labor  tells,  not  for  the  brief 
span  of  a  life,  not  for  the  fleeting  period  of  the  quick- 
gone  threescore  and  ten,  but  for  the  eternities  of 
God !  That  realm  is  the  field  of  immortal  mind ! 
That  field,  the  field  of  the  never-dying  spirit!  And 
in  that  field  Mr.  Sherman  wrought  grandly,  long 
and  well. 

In  this  field  he  worked  when  in  Woonsocket  he 
gathered  the  poor,  the  ragged,  and  the  uncared-for 
children  of  the  village  into  the  Sabbath-school,  and 
tauci'ht  them  thino-s  orrander,  nobler,  and  better  than 
they  had  ever  conceived  or  thought  of  before.  In 
this  field  he  worked,  when  in  Greenwich  he  insti- 
tuted the  wharf  meetincrs,  and  tauijht  the  uncouth 
and  unsightly  frequenters  of  those  haunts  of  vice — 
of  all  colors,  and  characters,  and  ages — taught  these 
people  about  goodness,  God,  and  heaven,  and  en- 
treated them  to  enter  upon  new  and  better  lives. 

7 


74 

In  this  field  lie  worked,  when,  in  his  own  home,  he 
opened  a  Sabbath-school  for  colored  people  ex- 
pressly ;  when  going  out  into  the  highways  and 
hedges  he  compelled  them  to  come  in  ;  when  thus, 
with  a  beofinninij  of  three  little  colored  ijfirls,  he  and 
his  worthy  and  sympathizing  wife  found  themselves 
instructing  a  dark  assembly  of  not  less  than  eighty- 
one  sons  and  daughters  of  ignorance  and  immorality 
and  irreligion. 

In  this  field  he  worked,  when  he  built  and  sup- 
ported at  his  own  expense  Marlboro  Chapel,  where 
on  a  large  scale,  and  with  ample  accommodations, 
the  poor  of  all  classes,  of  all  faiths,  or  of  no  faith, 
could  worship  without  money  and  without  price. 

This,  dear  reader,  was  the  real  life-work  of  Mr. 
Sherman.  Inconspicuous  indeed,  little  regarded  of 
men,  but  in  truth,  and  as  he  now  contemplates  it  in 
the  realms  of  light,  where  all  things  are  estimated  at 
their  real  value,  this  was  his  substantial  and  endur- 
ing life  labor.  "  For  the  thinc^s  that  are  seen  are  tem- 
poral,  but  the  things  that  are  not  seen  are  eternal." 

Beautifully  and  truly  writes   Philip  James  Bailey  : 

"  We  live  in  deeds,  not  years  ;  in  thoughts,  not  breaths  ; 
In  feelings,  not  in  figures  on  a  dial  ; 
We  should  count  time  by  heart  throbs. 
He  lives  longest  who  feels  the  noblest,  acts  the  best." 

And  Longfellow  sings  grandly  when  he  says  : 

"  It  is  the  heart  and  not  the  brain, 
That  to  the  highest  doth  attain, 
And  he  who  followeth  love's  behest 
Far  excelleth  all  the  rest." 


75 

"  He  liveth  long  who  livclh  well  ; 
All  else  is  life  but  thrown  away. 
He  liveth  longest  who  can  tell 

Of  true  things  truly  done  each  day." 

Last  Sickness. — As  has  been  noted  on  a  previous 
page,  Mr.  Sherman's  last  sickness  was  painful  and 
protracted.  At  times  his  suffering  was  exceed- 
ingly severe.  All  was  endured,  however,  with 
Christian  composure  and  without  complaint. 

He  gave  his  wife  explicit  directions  to  express, 
personally,  his  gratitude  to  those  who  had  been 
especially  kind  and  thoughtful  during  his  sickness, 
in  Greenwich  and  in  Rutland.  So  numerous  were 
these  material  expressions  of  thoughtful  remem- 
brance that  he  said  it  almost  paid  for  being  sick  to 
find  so  many  friends  who  were  willing  and  ready 
to  assist,  and  to  contribute  so  man)-  nice  things  for 
his  comfort — delicacies  to  tempt  his  appetite,  rare 
and  luscious  fruit,  flowers  rich  and  beautiful.  He 
remarked  further,  that  he  surel)^  had  been  greatly 
favored  in  these  regards,  both  in  Greenwich  and 
in  Rutland.  He  was  constantly  manifesting  his 
gratitude  for  the  care  and  favors  he  received,  and 
said  on  one  occasion  :  "  No  one  ever  had  better  care, 
or  even  such  good  care." 

About  a  week  before  his  death  he  gave  directions 
that  a  small  gift  be  sent  to  a  niece,  who  had  been 
before  overlooked  when  remeinbering  others. 

It  is  a  matter  of  comparatively  little  importance, 
in  itself  considered,  and  yet,  as  showing  the  kindly 
relations   he  sustained  to  his  ministerial  brethren,  it 


76 

is  a  matter,  perhaps,  worth  noting,  that  during  his 
last  sickness  he  was  called  on  by  no  less  than  fifteen 
different  clergymen  of  different  denominations.  He 
was  always  exceedingly  averse  to  all  forms  of  ex- 
ternal show  and  demonstration.  In  conformity  with 
this  disposition  of  his,  he  gave  especial  directions 
that  his  funeral  and  burial  should  be  quietly  con- 
ducted, without  display  of  an)-  kind.  Aside  from  the 
mere  physical  aspects  of  death,  in  the  form  of  sick- 
ness, suffering,  and  separation,  he  was  accustomed 
to  look  upon  it  with  composure  and  in  conformity 
with  the  teachinors  of  his  faith.  It  was  to  Imn,  not 
an  "eternal  sleep — nor  indeed  even  a  ''temporary 
sleep,"  but  a  passage,  as  through  a  darkened  cham- 
ber, to  a  realm  of  infinite  beauty  and  glory. 

To  him,  "  there  was  no  night  there,  and  they  need 
no  candle,  neither  light  of  the  sun,  for  the  Lord  God 
giveth  them  light,  and  they  shall  reign  for  ever  and 
ever." 

To  him  it  was  a  place  where  "  God  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  their  eyes,  and  there  shall  be  no 
more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying,  neither  shall 
there  be  any  more  pain,  for  the  former  things  are 
passed  away." 

In  his  views  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  were 
true,  as  true  as  the  event  of  death  itself  was  certain, 
and  upon  them  his  soul  reposed  in  a  sweet  and 
blessed  restfulness. 

"  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled  :  ye  believe  in 
God,  believe  also  in  me." 

"In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions  ;   if  it 


n 

were  not  so,  I  would  have  told  you.  I  <go  to  prepare 
a  place  for  you." 

"  And  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  /  luill 
come  again,  and  receive  you  nnto  myself;  tJiat  where 
I  am,  there  ye  may  be  a/so." 

It  was  in  conformity  with  these  uplifting  Christian 
views,  hopes,  and  feelings  that  he  made  the  request 
that,  when  Professor  Blakeslee  should  conduct  his 
funeral  services,  if  it  was  thought  desirable  to  have 
any,  he  should  speak  to  the  living  of  li/es  great 
blessings — speak  of  the  deep,  the  unspeakable  sig- 
nificance of  this  life,  rather  than  to  make  any  refer- 
ence to  himself,  or  to  dwell  upon  the  sad  and  mel- 
ancholy associations  of  bereavement  and  death. 

Funeral  Directions. —  His  life-long  instincts, 
ever  manifesting  themselves  in  all  things  pertaining 
to  the  decencies  and  proprieties  of  life,  continued 
with  him  to  the  last,  and  he  gave  explicit  directions, 
in  writing,  as  to  the  disposition  of  his  remains  after 
his  decease.  Just  before  he  died  he  made  mention 
of  some  business  matters  ;  then  said  :  "  I  believe  I 
have  done  all  that  is  necessary."  Thus  all  affairs 
relating  to  this  life  were  cared  for  and  completed. 

Remembers  iils  Friends. — To  a  large  number 
of  friends  he  sent  gifts  and  messages — to  "Father 
Mitchell,"  the  blind  centenarian,  with  whom  he  had 
enjoyed  many  hours  of  religious  conference,  and  to 
others. 

Near  the  close  of  his  life,  as  the  17th  chapter  of 
St.  John  was  being  read  to  him,  when  the  24th  verse 
was  reached — "  Father,  I  will  that  they  also  whom 


78 

thou  liast  nivcn  mc  be  with  iiu;  where  1  am  ;  tliat 
they  ma\'  bchoKl  m}-  ,L;l<>r\',  which  thou  hast  ^ix'en 
me" — he  said,  "  There  is  where  1  am  to  be."  Then 
seeming  to  fear  that  he  had  spoken  with  too  much 
assurance,  he  added,  "There  is  where  I  hope  to 
be." 

And,  feeHng  evidentl\-  that  the  end  was  near,  he 
remarked,  "  Ma,  I  have  reached  Beulah  Land." 

Services  Ar  Rutland. — No  public  service  was 
held  at  Dr.  Mead's.  The  Rev.  J.  R.  Richardson, 
pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church,  offered  prayer  at  five 
o'clock  P.M.,  on  Friday,  preparator)'  to  the  removal 
of  the  reniains  next  morning.  There  were  a  num- 
ber present,  being  those  who  had  especially  kindly 
feelings  toward  Mr.  Sherman,  and  were  particularly 
thoughtful  of  him,  Tliis  service  seemed  more  like 
a  family  gathering  for  evening  devotions  than 
funeral  obsequies. 

His  Favorite  Hymn. — After  the  prayer,  his  fa- 
vorite hymn  was  sung  by  two  ladies,  and  most  beau- 
tifully rendered  : 

I  come  to  thee,  I  come  to  thee  ! 
Thou  precious  Lamb  who  dietl  for  me  ; 
I  rest  confiding  in  thy  word, 
And  "cast  my  burden  on  the  Lord." 
I  come  to  thee  with  all  my  grief, 
Dear  Saviour,  help  my  unbelief; 
Thy  blessed  name,  my  only  plea. 
With  this,  O  Lord,  I  come  to  thee  ! 

I  come  to  thee,  whose  sovereign  power 
Can  cheer  me  in  the  darkest  hour  ; 


79 

I  come  to  thee  thro'  storm  and  shade, 
For  thou  hast  said,  "  Be  not  afraid." 
1  come  to  thee  with  all  my  tears, 
My  pain  and  sorrow,  doubt  and  fears  ; 
Thou  precious  Lamb,  who  died  for  me, 
I  come  to  thee,  I  come  to  thee  ! 

To  thee  my  trembling  spirit  flies, 

When  faith  grows  weak  and  comfort  dies, 

I  bow  adoring  at  thy  feet, 

And  hold  with  ihee  communion  sweet. 

0  wondrous  love  !  O  joy  divine  ! 

To  feel  thee  near  and  call  thee  mine  ! 
Thou  precious  Lamb,  who  died  for  me, 

1  come  to  thee,  I  come  to  thee  1 

As  was  fittingr,  on  the  morning"  when  his  remains 
were  taken  from  his  home  in  Greenwich,  the  bells 
of  Marlboro  Chapel  tolled  the  number  of  his  earth- 
life  years.  These  solemn  strokes  told  of  the  cessa- 
tion of  a  life  as  complete  in  years  (^y^,)  as  it  had 
been  in  virtues. 

Elm  Grove  Cemetery. — The  place  where  he 
was  laid  is  pleasantly  laid  out  and  ornamented,  and 
owes  its  existence  as  a  cemetery  to  him,  he  having- 
initiated  the  movement  which  secured  the  lot  in  the 
years  of  his  Wickford   life. 

He  afterward  Ijccame  desirous  that  the  corpora- 
tion having  charge  of  the  cemetery  should  establish 
a  perpetual  fund,  the  interest  of  which  should  be 
used  to  keep  the  lots  in  good  repair,  and  the  whole 
in  proper  condition.  This  he  proposed  to  the  di- 
rectors of  the  corporation,  but  though  it  was  well 
approved,  it  was  not  accomplished.      He   mentioned 


8o 


the  matter  a^^ain  a  short  time  before  his  death,  re- 
gretting extremely  tliat  it  had  not  been  done.  He 
was  told  that  it  should  not  be  fori^f^otten.  In  1886, 
four  years  after  his  decease,  the  directors  succeeded 
in  securing  a  charter  which  empowered  them  to  es- 
tablish a  fund  for  the  object  above  named  ;  and  now 
a  sum  of  mone)-,  thus  raised,  is  regularly  expended 
in  conformity  with  the  expressed  wishes  ol  Mr. 
Sherman,  the  projector  of  this  wise  and  excellent 
plan  for  keeping  the  cemetery  in  proper  condition. 

A  Present  to  the  old  Chikcii  of  his  Boy- 
hood.— Allusion  was  made  above  to  the  Allenton 
Baptist  Church.  This  was  the  Old  First  Baptist 
Church  of  North  Kingston,  to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made,  and  which  was  for  so  many  years 
under  the  pastoral  charge  of  Rev.  William  Northup, 
the  uncle  of  Mr.  Sherman.  It  was  here  that,  in  boy- 
hood, he  was  accustomed  to  attend  church  in  com- 
pany witli  his  parents,  and  it  was  here  that  he 
commenced  the  Christian  life  at  the  early  age  of 
eleven  years,  though  he  did  not  at  this  time  unite 
himself  with  the  church. 

A  short  time  before  the  close  of  his  life  he  re- 
quested that  the  fine  oil  portrait  of  his  uncle,  whom 
he  had  ever  most  highly  respected  and  revered, 
should  be  presented  to  this  church,  and  hung  upon 
the  walls  of  the  audience-room,  should  the  church 
be  pleased  so  to  do.  Accordingly  this  was  done, 
and  most  fittingly  the  presentation  was  made  by  Mrs. 
Sherman,  on  the  occasion  of  the  centennial  celebra- 
tion of  the  church,  November  12,  1882. 


8i 


It  was,  altogether,  a  most  interesting  occasion. 
The  followinor  outhne  of  the  exercises,  abbreviated 
from  one  of  the  local  papers,  will  be  of  interest  to 
the  many  friends  of  this  church,  as  well  as  to  the 
sorrowing  members  of  the  Sherman  family  : 

**The  First  Baptist  Church  in  North  Kingston, 
established  one  hundred  years  ago,  celebrated  its 
centennial  on  Sunday.  The  service  opened  with  an 
anthem  song  by  a  chorus  choir — '  Praise  the  Lord.' 
The  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  F.  J.  Jones,  re- 
cently pastor  of  the  church.  His  discourse  was  a 
sketch  of  the  church  since  its  organization,  its  history 
being  the  history  of  its  founder  and  father,  Rev. 
William  Northup,  who  was  a  native  of  the  vicinit\\ 
born  in  i  760.  He  served  for  a  time  in  the  War  of 
the  Revolution  as  drum-major,  but  wheji  converted 
he  went  at  once  into  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel. 
For  fifty-nine  years  he  was  pastor  of  this  church. 
Six  revivals  of  much  power  were  enjoyed  in  his  min- 
istry, bringing  400  persons  into  the  church.  He  died 
in  1839  at  the  age  of  79.  The  church  was  organized 
November  12.  1782.  It  began  with  12  brethren  and 
20  sisters,  converts  of  Mr.  Northup.  A  short  time 
afterwards,  on  the  same  day,  a  public  recognition  ot 
the  church,  with  the  ordination  of  Mr.  NorthuiJ. 
took  place.  The  next  Sunday  Mr.  Northup  bap- 
tized 7. 

"The    first     meeting-house    was    built     in     1786. 

Another  was  built   in    1846.      In    1848    the  present 

meeting-house  was  built.     In  1870,  the  church  being 

without  a  pastor,  a  great  revival  was  enjoyed  under 

s 


8. 


the  labors  of  the  Revs.  ].  Aldrich  and  Wheeler, 
neighboring  pastors.  In  1880  the  Rev.  F.J.Jones 
was  ordained,  under  whose  labors  a  revival  was  en- 
joyed and  some  forty  members  added.  The  church 
was  constituted  with  32  members.  Its  present  mem- 
bership is  184. 

"  When  the  discourse  was  finished,  the  portrait  of 
Elder  Northup,  a  remarkably  fine  one  painted  many 
years  ago  by  Lincoln,  was  brought  in  and  suspended 
in  the  rear  of  the  pulpit.  The  venerable  features 
were  recognized  by  man)-  of  the  older  people  in  the 
audience.  The  portrait  was  then  presented  to  the 
church  by  Mrs.  W.  N.  Sherman,  of  East  Greenwich, 
whose  husband,  William  Northup  Sherman,  was  the 
nephew  of  Elder  Northup.  The  presentation  was 
accompanied  with  a  written  note  signifying  that  the 
gift  was  made  in  accordance  with  one  of  the  last  re- 
quests of  her  late  husband,  and  in  harmony  with  her 
own  desire.  Deacon  J.  Eldred  responded  in  behalf 
of  the  church,  in  a  brief  and  appropriate  address. 
Mrs.  Sherman  appeared  before  the  audience  in  deep 
mourning  for  her  husband,  and.  with  the  assistance 
of  Rev.  J.  Aldrich,  exhibited  several  ancient  books 
with  quaint  titles,  which  had  been  owned  by  Elder 
Northup,  with  other  interesting  relics,  among  tliem 
a  manuscript  sermon  of  the  old  preacher,  faded  and 
smoky,  on  the  text,  Jeremiah,  xxxviii.  20  :  '  Obey,  I 
beseech  thee,  the  voice  of  the  Lord,  which  I  speak 
unto  thee  ;  so  it  shall  be  well  unto  thee,  and  thy 
soul  shall  live.'  The  volumes  had  a  very  old  and 
smoky  look.     A  hymn  was  sung,  of  which  the  two 


83 

last  stanzas  were  "  lined  off,"  in  the  fashion  of  the 
first  half  century  of  the  church.  The  hymn  was, 
'  How  did  my  heart  rejoice  to  hear,'  sung  to  Mear. 
The  singing-  was  as  old-fashioned  as  the  words  and 
the  tune.  At  this  point  a  member  was  received  into 
the  church  by  the  hand  of  fellowship.  The  service 
was  closed  with  the  doxology,  and  the  benediction 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Smith.  The  administration  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  followed,  the  Revs.  J.  Aldrich  and 
Dr.  Smith  assisting  in  the  service. 

"The  choir  sang  another  anthem,  'Crown  Him 
Lord  of  All,'  and  the  benediction  closed  the  service.' 


MEMORIAL  CLOCK.— After  the  death 
of  her  husband,  Mrs.  Sherman,  stricken 
down,  as  onl)'  those  who  have  had  a  similar 
experience  can  tell,  had  the  feeling  that  she  would 
like  to  leave  in  East  Greenwich,  where  for  so  many 
years  Mr.  Sherman  had  been  so  well  known  and  so 
much  esteemed,  some  appropriate  reminder  and 
memorial  of  his  honored  name.  She  accordini^dy 
decided  to  present  the  town  with  a  memorial  clock. 

Nothing  else,  certainly,  could  have  been  more  ap- 
propriate and  fitting.  Nothing  else  could  be  so  con- 
stant and  so  perfect  a  reminder  to  the  citizens  of  the 
village  of  him  who  had  for  so  many  years  mingled 
with  them  in  business,  and  had  taken  so  deep  an  in- 
terest in  all  their  affairs, — educational,  beneficiary, 
reformatory,  and  religious. 

Mrs.  Sherman  accordingly  addressed  a  letter  to 
the  Town  Clerk  of  East  Greenwich,  offering  to  pre- 
sent a  clock,  to  be  placed  in  some  dome  tower  as  a 
memorial  of  her  late  husband  and  to  be  known  as 
the  "Sherman  Memorial  Clock." 

At  the  same  meeting  of  the  town  council  in  1883 
this  proposition  was  accepted,  a  vote  of  thanks 
passed,  and  a  committee  appointed  to  have  the  mat- 
ter in  chargre.  Of  this  committee  Professor  F.  D. 
Blakeslee  was  chairman. 


85 

The  following  is  the  preamble  and  vote  as  passed  by  the  council : 

"  JVhcreas,  Mrs.  Mary  M.  Sherman,  of  Rutland, 
in  the  State  of  Vermont,  has  at  her  own  expense 
placed  in  the  tower  of  the  town  hall  of  this  town  a 
very  beautiful  and  valuable  town  clock  to  be  known 
as  the  Sherma7t  Memorial  Clock,  in  memory  of  her 
late  husband,  William  N.  Sherman,  for  many  years 
an  honored  citizen  of  East  Greenwich,  now  de- 
ceased ; 

"  It  is  therefore  voted  by  the  taxpayers  in  town 
meetinof  assembled  that  Mrs.  Sherman  is  entitled  to 
the  gratitude  and  thanks  of  all  the  people  of  this 
town  for  her  generous,  costly,  and  valuable  gift. 

"  And  it  is  further  voted  that  the  town  clerk  be 
and  he  is  hereby  directed  to  transmit  a  copy  of  this 
preamble  and  vote  to  Mrs.  Sherman. 

"  Edward  Stanhope.'' 

In  due  time,  June,  1886,  the  clock  was  finished 
and  placed  in  the  dome  of  the  new  town  hall  just 
completed. 

The  following  from  a  Providence  paper  will  be   ot  interest   in  this 
connection. 

"  The  Sherman  memorial  (town)  clock  is  in  its 
place  in  complete  running  order.  It  certainh'  is  a 
thing  of  beauty,  and  appears  to  be  perfect  in  mech- 
anism. The  clock  itself  is  placed  in  a  roc^in  built  on 
purpose  for  it  in  the  new  town  hall,  some  twenty  feet 
below  the  bell  and  dial  plates.  By  an  ingenious  yet 
simple  construction  of  gearing,  the  hands  of  all  four 


86 


dial  plates  are  connected  with  the  clock  by  one 
shaft.  On  front  of  the  clock,  as  one  enters  the 
door,  is  seen  the  solid  silver  i)late,  bearing  the  fol- 
lowing inscription  : 

In  Memoriam. 

Placed  in  position  and  presented  to  the  town 

of  East  Greenwich,  R.  I.,  June,  1886, 

B)- 

Mary  M.  Sherman, 

In  memory  of  her  husband, 

William  Northup  Sherman, 

Who  died  March  2,  1882. 

"  The  clock  has  two  small  dial  plates,  one  with  the 
minute  and  hour  hands,  the  other  with  the  second 
hand,  and  by  an  ingenious  piece  of  mechanism  the 
four  dial  plates  in  the  tower  above  are  set  to  a  second 
by  turning  a  small  key  which  sets  the  two  small  dial 
plates  upon  the  clock.  The  weight  of  the  pendulum 
is  about  125  pounds,  the  running  weight  about  100 
pounds  and  the  striking  weight  about  1,000  pounds. 
The  latter  raises  the  40-pound  hammer  8  inches. 
There  is  100  feet  of  cord  on  the  time  weight,  200 
on  the  striking  weight.  It  has  the  Graham  dead- 
beat  escapement.  It  is  an  eight-day  clock,  will  run 
two  weeks  without  winding,  though  it  is  intended  to 
be  wound  once  a  week.  The  running  weight  winds 
about  50  feet.  The  time  weight  is  about  126.  The 
town  is  to  be  congratulated,  and  Mrs.  Sherman  is 
entitled  to  a  unanimous  vote  of  thanks  for  the 
beautiful  crift. 


This  clock  has  been  heard  to  strike  at  Pine  Hills, 
a  distance  of  ten  miles  far  away  across  the  bay. 

Conclusion. — Thus  we  have  briefly  narrated  some 
few  of  the  more  salient  points  in  the  earth  life  of 
this  good  man.  Early  in  life  he  "  commenced  doing 
good,"  and  so,  as  the  apostle  Paul  says,  sen^  on  his 
works  before  to  meet  him,  when  by  and  by  he 
should  pass  on  to  the  heavenly  land.  But  now  he 
has  made  the  eternal  passage,  and  the  full  harvest 
of  his  Christian  labor  is  his,  "and  his  works  do  follow 
him." 


E-TTERS. 


I^ettei'^. 

HE  following  letters, — one  to  himself,  and 
others  letters  of  condolence,  some  to  his 

wife,  and  some    to   his   daughter, — make 

many  interesting  references  to  his  life  and  charac- 
ter, 

(From  Rev.  Mr.  RoLbins  to  himself.) 

Cape  Neddick,  Nov.  4,  1879. 
Dear  BrotJicr  Sherman  : 

I  take  the  liberty  of  sending  to  you  a  picture  of  a 
man  who  feels  greatly  indebted  to  you  for  the  many 
expressions  of  kindness  and  good  will  which  he  has 
received  from  you.  I  need  not  enumerate  these 
acts  of  kindness,  but  they  have  made  an  indelible 
impression  on  my  heart  and  I  want,  in  some  way, 
to  let  you  know  it.  The  interest  you  took  in  un- 
ease during  the  days  of  darkness  and  sorrow  which 
followed  the  resignation  of  my  pastorate  at  Green- 
wich, and  the  soothing,  comforting  words  which  your 
wife  addressed  to  me  just  before  I  entered  the  cars 
when  I  left  for  Boston,  will  never  be  forgotten  by 
me.  And  the  delightful  meetings  I  enjoyed  in  your 
chapel  I  often  remember  with  great  pleasure,  and 
with  a  feeling  of  regret  that  1  cannot  enjoy  ihem 
aorain.  I  have  no  such  meetinors  here.  I  ha\c  a 
good  congregation  t(^  j)reach  to  on  the  Sabbath,  and 


our  prayer  and  praise  meetings  in  tlie  evenings  are 
well  attended  ;  but  I  have  to  do  most  of  the  talk- 
ing-.    The  church  beinor  small,  tlic  number  of  workers 

o  o 

is  small.  We  have  not  such  a  hive  of  busy  bees  as 
you  have  at  the  chapel.  The  Lord  bless  you, 
Brother  S.,  and  your  chapel  work.  We  shall  be 
happy  to  see  you  at  any  time,  and  also  to  hear  from 
you  by  letter. 

Fraternally. 

GiLlJERT  RoiiBINS. 
(From  the  Rev.  J.  Aldrich  to  Mrs.  Sherman.) 

Mrs.   IV^n.  A^.  Sherman. 

Dear  Sister  :  As  I  was  confined  to  my  house, 
on  the  funeral  occasion  of  your  dear  husband,  and 
denied  the  privilege  of  mingling  my  tears  of  sym- 
pathy for  )ou  in  common  with  your  many  friends, 
you  will  allow  me  to  address  to  you  a  few  words 
with  my  pen.  I  rejoice,  that  while  you  are  passing 
through  a  very  heavy  sorrow,  which  nothing  less 
than  God's  grace  can  reconcile  you  to  bear  pa- 
tiently, )ou  are  not  left  to  mourn  as  those  who 
have  no  hope  ;  for  your  husband  has  not  only  died 
in  the  hope  of  a  better  resurrection,  but  has  also  left 
behind  him,  for  your  comfort,  the  record  of  a  useful 
life.  It  is  not  my  special  office  to  eulogize  the  de- 
ceased ;  and  to  you,  who  know  so  much  better  than 
I  the  various  offices  of  honor  which  he  has  filled 
with  all  the  details  of  his  useful  life,  there  is  no 
need  that  I  should  rehearse  his  praise.  His  record 
is  not  only  in    Heaven,  but  it  has  been  eloquently 


93 

chronicled  by  others  on  earth.  I)Ut  it  is  so  pleas- 
ant to  recall  the  deeds  of  our  departed  friends,  that 
I  cannot  well  forbear  an  allusion  to  a  Sabbath 
which  it  was  my  privilege  to  spend  at  your  house 
ten  years  ago  last  November.  That  beautiful  day 
was  made  especially  memorable  to  me  b)-  the  Sun- 
day-school service,  held  at  mid-day,  in  a  convenient 
apartment  of  your  own  house.  I  had  seen  your 
husband  happy  on  other  occasions,  but  never  so 
happy  as  that  day,  when  the  poor  and  neglected 
people  of  the  place  flocked  in,  and  gathered  around 
him  for  Bible  instruction.  He  seemed  to  feel  that 
it  was  his  special  mission  to  provide  for  that  class, 
and  to  be  perfectly  satisfied,  as  to  compensation 
for  his  labor  ami  expense,  with  the  affectionate 
gratitude  which  they  manifested  on  that  occasion. 
The  pleasing  scenes  of  that  Sunday-school  session 
come  to  me  to-day  with  almost  as  much  freshness 
as  if  the}'  had  occurred  but  yesterday.  My  first 
surprise  was  that  so  large  a  number  of  that  class 
which  is  so  hard  to  interest  in  religious  instruction 
had  been  drawn  together  in  a  private  house,  and 
that  they  all  seemed  so  cheerful,  and  so  much  at 
home  in  the  exercises  of  the  school.  The  poor  and 
illiterate  of  our  larger  towns  are  made  to  feel  so 
keenly  the  contrast  between  their  social  condition 
and  that  of  the  ordinary  congregation  that  gathers 
in  our  larcfer  churches  on  the  Sabbath,  that  when 
the  few  conscientious  Christians  do  try,  now  and 
then,  to  bring  tliem  into  the  house  of  God.  they  suc- 
ceed  onl)'  in  a  very  few  cases.      The   instinctive  de- 


94 

sire  of  the  poor  and  wrctchetl  to  receive  sympathy  or 
kindly  attentions  from  their  superiors — whicli  is  one 
of  the  hopeful  features  of  fallen  humanity — was  hap- 
pily realized  that  day  in  your  cheerful  and  commo- 
dious home.  I  remember  how  I  thanked  God  in  my 
heart  that  He  had  provided  at  least  one  family 
and  one  home  in  East  Greenwich  to  succor  and  ele- 
vate the  poor  and  unfortunate.  I  cannot  forget  the 
grateful  and  satisfied  expression  which  beamed  with 
a  beautiful  radiance  upon  all  their  faces,  as  they  par- 
ticipated in  the  exercises  of  that  day.  I  had  never 
before  so  fully  appreciated  the  blessedness  ot  minis- 
tering- to  God's  little  ones.  I  then  and  there  felt 
somewhat,  at  least,  the  grave  import  of  Christ's 
words,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of 
the  least  of  these,  my  disciples,  ye  have  done  it  unto 
me."  I  remember  how  I  was  impressed  that  evening, 
in  conducting  the  introductory  services  of  Marlbor- 
ough Street  Chapel,  to  speak  of  that  beautiful  inci- 
dent in  the  life  of  our  Saviour  which  is  recorded  in 
Matt.  xi.  4-6,  making,  in  my  discourse,  a  special 
point  of  the  fact  that  in  answering  John  the  Baptist's 
inquiry,  "  Art  thou  he  that  should  come,  or  do  we 
look  for  another?"  Jesus  said  to  John's  disciples: 
"  Go,  tell  him  the  blind  receive  their  sight,  the  lame 
walk,  the  lepers  are  cleansed,  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead 
are  raised  up, and  the  poor  have  the  Gospel  preached 
to  them  ;  and  blessed  is  he  whosoever  shall  not  be 
offended  in  me."  As  I  then  said,  "  The  Marlbor- 
ough Street  Mission  must  prove  to  the  churches  of 
East  Greenwich  its  divine  commission,  to  undertake 


95 

an  independent  work  for  the  salvation  of  sinners,  by 
savi}ii^\\\^x\\y  so  noiv  I  believe  it  JiasAoVi^  this  to  the 
satisfaction  of  some  of  the  best  members  of  each  of 
the  churches.  That  many  doubted  the  expediency  of 
the  mission,  and  others  sincerely  regretted  its  inau- 
guration, shows  nothing,  now  that  it  has  proved  the 
birth-place  of  souls  ;  but  it  is  clearly  evident  that  my 
departed  brother  was  divinely  directed  to  erect  this 
chapel  to  God's  service  ;  and  I  sincerely  pray  that 
God  will  provide  wise  and  faithful  men  to  carry  on 
successfully  in  the  future  what  your  dear  husband 
so  well  commenced.  I  am  snre  that  he  who  conse- 
crated his  money  so  liberally,  and  gave  his  services 
with  so  much  self-denial  to  this  enterprise,  while  on 
earth,  can  but  feel  a  deeper  interest  in  its  present 
and  future  success  in  saving  souls,  now  that  he 
knows  their  worth  and  the  glorious  rewards  of 
Heaven.  Regretting  that  I  have  extended  these 
lines  which  I  had  desio-ned  to  limit  to  a  brief  note  to 
so  long  an  epistle,  praying  that  you  may  be  di- 
vinely comforted  and  sustained  in  this  hour  of  your 
great  sorrow,  I  hasten  to  subscribe  myself 

J.   Aldkich. 

(From  Mrs.  Clement  to  Mrs.  Mead.) 

Hartford,  March  8,  1882. 
My  deal'  Mrs.  Mead  : 

I  have  just  heard  of  )-our  sad  bereavement,  and 
desire  to  assure  you  of  ni}-  sincere  s\-mi)ath\-.  I 
have  thought  so  much  of  )'ou  and  )oiir  poor 
mother  in   your   great  loneliness  which  must  follow 


96 

the  loss  of  one  to  whom  you  were  so  constantly  and 
devotedly  attached.  And  your  dear  little  daughter 
must  miss  so  much  the  grandpa  whose  fondness  for 
her  was  so  remarkable. 

But  your  faith  in  the  promises  of  our  blessed 
Saviour  will  surely  bring  comfort  to  your  stricken 
hearts,  and  the  memory  of  such  a  useful  life  is  some- 
thing to  be  thankful  for. 

Mrs.  Parker  unites  with  me  in  expressions  ot 
sympathy. 

^  (From  J.  W.  Miller  to  Mrs.  Sherman.) 

Bellefonte,  Pa.,  March   i6,  18S2. 
Dear  Mrs.  Shcynian  : 

As  I  read  in  the  Philadelphia  Record  of  a  week 
ago  last  Saturday  a  despatch  announcing  the  death 
of  Mr.  Sherman,  both  his  own  and  your  many  kind 
words  and  acts  came  before  me  with  increased 
force,  and  1  felt  a  desire  to  express  in  some  way  my 
sympathy  for  you.  And  yet,  I  feel  your  grief  is  so 
sacred  that  I  dare  not  break  in  upon  it  with  my 
words.  The  music  of  nature  may  seem  discordant 
and  jarring  to  friends,  and  earth  may  be  sorrowful  ; 
but  only  to  that  little  immediate  circle  from  which  is 
taken  the  loved  one  does  the  broken  chord  appear 
and  the  voices  of  earth  seem  indeed  to  be  harsh. 
At  such  times,  grief  shuts  out  our  grosser  selves,  and 
conforms  us  insensibly  to  our  God-natures.  How 
we  should  cherish  those  feelings  of  love  which  are 
immortal !  The  sorrows  of  separation  will  multiply 
the  joys  of  reunion,  and  we  shall  in  the  hereafter 


97 

bless  the  Father  wlio  permitted  us  to  ha\e  affliction 
in  time,  only  that  we  may  more  fully  aj^preciate 
Heaven's  pleasures  in  eternity. 

Clara  wrote  me  fuller  with  regard  to  your  be- 
reavement, and,  since  together  we  shared  your 
kindness,  we  likewise  ma\-  unite  in  asking  our 
Heavenly  Father  to  reveal  unto  you  the  deeper 
things  of  His  love,  and  give  you  constant  trust  in 
the  ultimate  joyful  meeting  with  your  loved  one  in 
the  land  of  Beulah.  ^  J.  W.  Miller. 

(From  Miss  Blakeslee  to  Mrs.  Sherman.) 

Cortland,  N.  Y.,  March  20,  1882. 
Mrs.  Sherman  : 

Our  Dear  Friend  :  I  can  add  but  little,  for  words 
at  such  a  time  are  useless,  but  I  wanted  you  to  know 
that  I  was  not  unmindful  of  your  great  sorrow. 

You  do  not  sorrow  without  hope,  I  am  sure,  and 
Heaven  grows  very  near  us  when  it  holds  a  dear 
one  taken  from  our  family. 

If  such  notes  as  these  pain  you  at  present,  wait 
and  read  them  with  more  care  later,  and  you  may 
possibly  be  glad  to  know  that  they  were  prompted 
by  sympathetic  hearts.  We  shall  all  miss  your 
husband. 

'■'  We  wept — 'twas  Xaturc  wept,  but  failli 
Can  pierce  beyond  the  gloom  of  death, 
And  in  3-on  world,  so  i\\ir  ami  bright, 
Behold  thee  in  refulgent  light  ! 
We  miss  thee  here,  yet  Failh  would  rather 
Know  thou  art  with  thy  Heavenly  Father. 

ID 


98 

XiiUirt  sees  the  body  dead — 
Faith  beholds  the  spirit  fled  ; 
Xa/nre  stops  at  Jordan's  tide — 
Fiii/h  beholds  the  other  side  ; 
Thai  but  hears  farewell,  and  sighs, 
This,  ///r  ivelcome  in  the  skies! 

Please  accept  my  love  and  sympathy. 


(From  Miss  C.  S.  Weeks  to  Mrs.  Mead.) 

New  York,  March  19,  1882. 
My  dear  Mary  : 

I  have  just  heard  of  the  great  sorrow  which  has 
recently  come  to  you,  and  I  cannot  help  writing  a 
line  to  express  my  sympathy  for  your  loss,  though 
we  have  been  so  long  separated  as  to  be  now  almost 
strangers. 

The  )ears  have  doubtless  brought  man)'  changes 
to  us  both,  but  none  which  seems  to  me  sadder  than 
that  which  robs  you  of  your  good  father,  whose 
kindly  and  genial  nature  I  remember  well.  I  count 
among  the  pleasantest  memories  of  my  girlhood  the 
days  wliich  I  spent  in  your  household,  which  he  as 
well  as  your  dear  mother  and  yourself  did  so  much 
to  render  home-like  to  a  homeless  child. 

I  read  of  your  father's  death  with  so  sincere  a 
feeling  of  regret  and  so  tender  an  appreciation  of 
the  sorrow  that  it  must  be  to  you,  that  I  cannot  re- 
frain from  giving  expression  to  it.  that  you  may  be 
assured  that  whatever  comfort  may  be  derived  from 
the  cordial  sympathy  of  your  friends  is  at  least 
yours. 


99 

Give  my  warmest  love  to  your  mother. 
I  remain  with  much  affection  and  many  kind  re- 
membrances, 

Sincerely  yours, 

C.  S.  Weeks. 

(From  S.  M.  Sherman  to  Mrs.  Mead.) 

Jamaica  Plain,  March  29,  1882. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Mead: 

I  was  very  sorry  to  learn  ot  your  father's  death. 
As  a  boy  I  was  with  him  a  good  deal.  He  used  to 
take  me  to  ride  with  him  very  often.  Some  of  my 
pleasantest  recollections  as  a  boy  are  associated  with 
him.  You  have  my  deepest  sympathy  in  your  great 
loss. 

Give  my  most  affectionate  regards  to  \our  mother. 
She  was  my  Sunday-school  teacher  when  I  was  a 
boy  in  Wickford.  I  have  always  cherished  her 
memory  as  the  first  teacher  who  imparted  to  me 
when  a  boy  my  first  knowledge  of  that  Being  whom 
now,  as  a  man,  I  acknowledge  with  love  and  rever- 
ence and  humility  as  my  Master  and  Saviour. 
Very  sincerely  yours, 

S.  M.  Sherman. 

(From  Rev.  Mr.  Stetson  to  Mrs.  Sherman.) 

Providence,  R.  I.,  April  —  ,  1882. 
No.  32  Gilmore  Street. 
Sister  Sherman  : 

I  hasten  to  do  what  I  have  been  intending  to  do 
ever  since  the  death  of  your  dear  and  much  respected 
husband.      I  know  you  feel  sad  and  lonely  since  his 


lOO 


departure  to  the  blessed  spirit  land.  But  the  sweet 
recollections  of  the  past,  the  life  he  lived,  the  earnest 
catholic  spirit  of  loyalty  to  truth,  the  fervent  spirit 
of  love  to  Christ,  the  self-denial  for  the  cfood  of  hu- 
manity,  the  constant,  fervent  spirit  of  prayer,  the 
noble  reaching  forth  after  higher  attainments,  the 
manliness  he  maintained  on  every  side,  the  sweet 
fragrance  of  love  he  threw  around  his  earth  home, 
and  earth  life,  still  remain.  They  are  not  dead. 
They  still  cheer  and  speak  to  you.  Not  only  to  you 
but  to  us  all  who  were  permitted  to  share  his  ever 
kindly  greetings. 

Many  have  been  the  pleasant  hours  I  have  spent 
at  your  Rose  Cottage  with  your  husband  and  your- 
self. Pleasing  recollections  they  indeed  are  to  me. 
How  pleased  I  would  be  to  repeat  them,  but  that 
cannot  be.  I  cannot  mourn  for  Brother  Sherman, 
for  he  has  gone  to  that  rest  we  used  to  talk  about 
and  pray  for.  Pleased  would  I  be  to  meet  him  again 
as  I  used  to  and  see  his  smiling  face,  but  I  must  wait 
in  that  future  hope  through  the  mercy  of  Christ  and 
the  Father,  God,  of  finding  him  in  that  happy  land 
where  disease  and  pain  and  sorrow  and  all  tears  are 
removed.  I  was  surprised  when  I  heard  of  his 
death,  and  I  should  have  been  present  at  his  funeral 
had  it  been  that  circumstances  favored.  I  thouo-ht  I 
would  write  you  and  try  to  speak  some  word  of  com- 
fort to  you,  and  then  I  thought  that  I  would  wait  till 
the  first  hours  of  sorrow  had  passed  and  the  more 
lonely  hour  of  secret  sorrow  had  dropped  its  shad- 
owing cloud  over  your  spirit.     l)Ut    I    trust  as  the 


lOI 


bright  hope  of  the  future  world  with  all  its  happy 
reunions  is  pictured  on  your  spirit,  the  light  from 
glory  is  so  strong  that  the  shadows  are  quickly  re- 
moved, and  you  are  led  to  trust  all  to  Him  "who 
doeth  all  things."  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  that  die 
in  the  Lord." 

I  have  heard  nothing  of  your  future  arrangements, 
but  presume  you  will  be  with  your  daughter. 

What  did  he  do  with  the  chapel  ?  Is  it  to  be  con- 
tinued as  a  place  of  worship  ?  I  have  enjoyed  many 
a  pleasant  hour  of  worship  in  that  place. 

I  hope  you  are  enjoying  a  good  degree  of  health 
and  very  much  of  the  consolations  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ. 

From  your  brother  in  Christ,  with  Christian  love. 


(From  Miss  Mary  Crane,  daughter  of  Rev.  S.  A.  Crane,  D.D.,  who 

was  rector  ot  St.  Luke's  Church,  Greenwich,  for  more 

than  thirty  years,  to  Mrs.  Sherman.) 

Rome,  Italy,  May  1 1,  1882. 
My  dear  Mrs.  Shcriiui)i  : 

I  know  that  letters  and  words  can  only  comfort 
those  in  sorrow  as  proofs  that  friends  are  sympathiz- 
ing with  them,  and,  therefore,  though  perfectly  con- 
scious that  I  cannot  take  one  sorrow  from  )our 
heart,  I  am  going  to  send  a  few  lines  to  tell  you  that 
though  so  far  away  I  do  not  forget  you  and  Mar\-  in 
the  bereavement  to  which  you  have  been  called  in 
the  loss  of  husband  and   father.      I   know,  too,  that 


I02 


you  know  in  wliom  )ou  trust,  and  that  He  is  willing 
and  able  to  ])ring-  )ou  comfort  in  this  hour  of  trial, 
and  that  He  only  can.  It  is  a  sad  break  in  the  home 
when  the  head  is  taken,  and  )ou  know  how  sadly 
we  were  called  to  feel  this.  I  well  remember  your 
kindly  sympathy  when  my  dear  father  was  taken 
from  me.  and  afterward  when  my  mother  followed 
him.  )our  kindness  to  me.  In  both  these  afflictions 
)ou  were  very  kind,  and  I  have  many  times  said  I 
wanted  to  write  to  you  now  and  tell  )Ou  you  and 
Mary  were  not  forgotten,  though  so  far  away.  Max- 
God  bless  and  comfort  you  both.  For  Mary  it  is 
less  hard,  as  she  has  her  own  family  about  her,  and 
no  doubt  you  will  go  and  be  with  her  most  of  the 
time,  but  wherever  you  are  the  great  blank  in  your 
future  must  ever  follow  you.  But  in  your  daughter's 
home  and  in  her  family  you  will  find  much  to  occupy 
and  interest  you,  and  in  time,  God's  good  angel  of 
comfort  which  must  soften  our  orrief  however  orreat, 
you  will  find  yourself  looking  more  on  the  time  of 
meeting  and  less  back  to  earth  and  its  sadness.  In 
fact  it  will  be  but  a  short  time  before  we  shall  all 
meet  in  that  home  where  partings  cannot  come. 

Indeed,  dear  Mrs.  Sherman,  were  it  not  for  the 
blessed  hope  in  that  world  to  come  where  the 
Saviour  will  be  our  light  and  our  peace,  what 
should  we  do  in  these  hours  ?  Oh,  let  us  thank 
Him  for  the  inestimable  blessing  of  His  love  and  all 
that  He  has  done  for  us  and  our  hopes  for  the 
future.  May  He  bless  and  comfort  you  and  )ours 
in  your  hour  of  trial.      Will  you  remember  me  most 


TO 


kindly  to  Mary  and  accept  for  both  my  sincere  sym- 
pathy in  your  bereavement. 

Your  very  truly  sympathizing  friend, 

Mary  Crane. 

(From  Miss  R.  H.  Smiley  to  Mrs.  Sherman,  a  preacher  in  the  Society 

of  Friends.) 

Lake  Mohonk,  March  31,  1882. 
Dear  Mrs.  Sherfuan  : 

My  thoughts  often  turn  to  thee  with  loving  sym- 
pathy as  I  remember  thee  in  thy  loneliness,  and  I 
do  pray  that  the  "  God  of  all  comfort "  may  be  very 
consciously  near  thee  each  moment. 

He  a/ojie  can  fill  the  void  that  death  has  made 
and  lift  thy  thoughts  to  that  blessed  home  where  the 
dear  one  gone  before  is  "forever  with  the  Lord." 

That  life  seems  more  and  more  to  me  the  realYii^, 
and  I  love  to  dwell  upon  it  and  think  of  the  joy  of 
those  who  have  entered  in.  Only  "  a  little  while  " 
and  we,  too,  shall  join  with  them  in  their  songs  of 
joy  and  triumph.  As  dear  friends  one  by  one  are 
taken,  I  can  but  rejoice  for  them  that  the  trials  of 
earth  are  ended  and  they  rest  with  Jesus. 

I  know  there  is  the  sorrow  for  those  remaining — 
the  daily  missing  the  dear  ones,  but  He  knows  all 
this  and  sympathizes  with  those  who  sorrow.  I  trust 
thou  dost  so  enter  into  the  joy  of  thy  dear  husband 
that  thy  own  heart  is  uplifted  with  a  blessed  foretaste 
of  the  joy  beyond. 

Thy  dear  one  is  with  Jesus  now  seeing  Him  face 
to  face.     Oh,  what  joy  !  satisfied  forever !     He  has 


I04 

seen  it  best  to  leave  thee  here  a  httle  longer  to  live 
for  Him — to  manifest  forth  the  life  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  I  do  pray  that  thou  mayest  realize  day  by  day 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  is  a  blessed  reality,  and  that 
thou  mayest  be  a  living- witness  of  His  love  and  sup- 
porting grace,  and  be  anew  set  apart  for  Him. 

"Set  apart  for  Jesus, 

Is  not  this  enough  ? 
Though  the  desert  prospect 

Opens  wild  and  rough  ? 
Set  apart  for  His  delight. 

Chosen  for  His  holy  pleasure, 

Sealed  to  be  His  special  treasure  ! 
Could  we  choose  a  noble  joy, 

And  wou'd  we  if  we  might?" 

And  then  the  blessedness  of  being  set  apart  to 
serve  Him.  May  we  delight  to  do  His  will,  giving 
Him  a  joyful  service  with  praise. 

May  the  Lord  bless  and  comfort  thee. 
Lovingly  thy  friend, 

R.  H.  Smiley. 

(Extracts  from  Mrs.  C.  W.  Ray,  D.D.,  to  Mrs.  Mead.) 

3214  ILWEKFORD  St., 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
My  dear  Mary  : 

In  your  family  there  have  been  sad  ravages. 
Death  has  been  there — rather  the  dear  departed  has 
been  promoted  to  a  nobler  immortal  career,  his  mor- 
tal life  was  well  rounded — everything  finished. 
Blessed  rest  in  paradise,  after  so  much  labor. 


I05 

Give  much  love  to  your  dear  mother  and  say  to 
her  that  in  my  heart  of  hearts  I  have  sympathized 
with  her  in  her  great  loss — with  yourself  too,  but 
you  have  your  husband  and  child,  while  she  is  quite 
alone. 

Several  friends  sent  me  papers  containing  sketches 
concerning  the  life  and  labors  of  your  father,  which 
have  been  of  much  interest  to  me.  It  seems  to  me 
that  his  was  a  finished  life.  He  was  able  to  accom- 
plish so  much  good  in  the  Master's  cause,  and  had 
such  a  Ions:  life  in  which  to  labor.  Grateful  is  the 
memory  of  such. 

Mrs.  C.  VV.  Ray. 

(Extracts  from  Rev.  Gilbert  Robbins  to  Mrs.  Sherman.  Mr.  R. 
remarked  to  Mr|.  Sherman  as  he  left  E.  Greenwich  for  another 
field,  "  You  have  done  for  me  more  than  any  other  one  here  unless 
it  be  Mrs.  V."     He  lived  in  Mrs.  V.'s  house.) 

Cape  Neddicii,  March. 
Deal'-  Airs.  Sherman  : 

Most  sincerely  do  I  sympathize  with  you  in  your 
bereavement.  May  you  find  the  grace  of  God  suf- 
ficient to  sustain  you  under  it.  I  feel  that  in  the 
death  of  your  husband  I  have  lost  a  friend  ;  for  dur- 
ing my  ten  years'  residence  in  Greenwich  I  always 
regarded  him  in  that  light.  One  of  the  pleasantest 
trips  of  my  life  I  owe  to  him.  I  refer  to  the  trip  I 
made  with  him  to  Washincrton,  several  vears  7s.^o, 
when  our  missionary  anniversaries  were  held  there. 
He  generously  furnished  me  with  the  means  of  going 
and  returning,  and,  indeed,  of  defraying  all  the  ex- 


io6 

penses  of  the  journey.  And  I  remember  with 
pleasure  how  I  went  with  him  down  the  Potomac  to 
Mt.  Vernon  and  visited  the  tomb  of  the  immortal 
Washington.  Oh,  what  thrilling  emotions  we  had  as 
we  stood  together  gazing  upon  that  sacred  tomb !  It 
was  an  event  to  be  remembered  for  a  life-time.  And 
I  never  think  of  it  without  feeling  grateful  to  the  man 
who  gave  me  the  opportunity  of  doing  it.  I  should 
not  have  enjoyed  that  privilege  had  it  not  been  for 
the  kindness  of  Brother  Sherman.  And  that  is  not 
the  only  occasion  on  which  I  was  the  recipient  of  his 
benefactions.  I  think,  with  pleasure,  of  the  kind 
attentions  I  received  from  him  during  the  trials 
through  which  I  passed  in  some  of  the  last  months 
I  lived  in  Greenwich.  And  I  remember  the  words 
of  sympathy  uttered  by  you,  dear  sister,  just  as  I 
left  the  village  in  the  cars  for  Boston. 

The  good  Lord  reward  you  for  your  good  wishes 
and  words,  and  may  you  be  supported  by  his 
precious  promises  now  that  you  are  left  alone.  Man}' 
will  lament  the  departure  of  your  husband  as  well 
as  yourself.  The  worshippers  in  the  chapel  will 
sadly  miss  the  man  to  whose  Christian  liberality  they 
are  indebted  for  that  pleasant  place  of  worship.  But 
you  must  remember,  and  so  must  they,  that  the 
builder  and  owner  of  that  chapel  has  entered  that 
"  house  not  made  with  hands  eternal  in  the  heavens." 
He  has  gone  where,  often  on  earth,  his  spirit  longed 
to  be,  and  we  shall  all  soon  follow  him.  Mrs.  R. 
sends  her  love  and  kindest  sympathy. 

Gilbert  Robbjns. 


I07 

(Extracts  from  Mrs.  Asenath  C.  Green,  for  more  than  twenty  years 
a  missionary  in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  to  Mrs.  Sherman.) 

Makawas,  S.  I.,  Jan.  24,  '84. 
Very  dear  Mrs.  Sherman  : 

I  take  a  note  sheet  this  morning  to  fully  assure 
you  that  a  well-covered  letter  was  mailed  for  Green- 
wich long,  long  ago,  taking  my  love  and  sympathy 
to  a  cherished  friend  ;  perhaps  had  I  directed  to 
Mrs,  Wm.  N.,  instead  of  M.  B.,  you  would  have  re- 
ceived it. 

Your  dear  daughter  Mary  is  located  in  the 
"  Green  Mountain  State,"  making  a  home  for  her- 
self. I  think  of  it  as  the  place  of  her  devoted  father's 
last  weariness  and  ^2i\w,  from  which  his  spirit  took 
flight  to  an  abode  of  rest  and  unending  bliss.  How 
truly  it  may  be  said  of  him,  he  lived  not  for  self 
but  others  !  My  delightful  visits  at  your  pleasant 
Wickford  home  are  oases  in  my  memory. 

With  much  love  to  yourself  and  friends,  I  am 
ever  yours, 

Mrs.  Asenath  C.  Green. 


JSemori/^l  Sermon. 


HE  Sabbath  succeeding  his  burial,  March  19, 
1882,  a  memorial  service  was  arranged 
and  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bradbury, 
of  Providence,  in  Marlboro  Chapel,  East  Greenwich. 
The  following  selections  from  this  sermon  will  be 
read  with  interest : 

Text,  Ps.  cxii.  6  :  "  The  righteous  shall  be  in 
everlasting  remembrance."     The  last  clause. 

The  Bible,  from  Genesis  to  Revelation,  separates 
the  human  race  into  two  large  divisions.  It  names 
them  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  ;  the  saint  and 
the  sinner  ;  the  believer  and  the  unbeliever. 

It  represents  them  as  serving  two  masters,  the 
righteous  serving  God  the  Father,  Christ  Jesus,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Great  Comforter ; 
the  wicked  serving  Satan,  who,  for  sixty  centuries, 
has  been  trying  to  rob  God  of  his  glory,  and  men  of 
their  souls. 

The  Bible  also  represents  them  as  walking  differ- 
ent ways — the  righteous  walking  in  a  straight,  nar- 
row, sun-lit,  star-jjaved  way  ;  the  wicked  in  a  broad, 
easy,  sliding-along  way. 

They  meet  with  opposite  deaths.  The  righteous 
often  triumph  in  death,  shouting,  "  O,  deatli,  where 
is  thy  sting?  "  The  wicked  are  driven  awa)-  in  their 
wickedness,  without  hope  and  without  God. 

The  Bible  goes  still   further.      St.  Matthew,  in  the 


I  12 


25th  chapter,  from  the  31st  verse  to  the  close  of  the 
chapter  in  his  gospel,  gives  a  graphic,  glowing  de- 
scription of  the  august  scenes  of  the  General  Judg- 
ment, when,  for  the  first  and  last  time,  the  whole 
human  race  were  ever  together,  or  ever  will  be. 
My  theme    is  the  character    and  destiny  of  the 

righteous.      We    remark   in  describing-  their    char- 
ts o 

acter  : 

1.  You  may  know  the  righteous,  for  they  are  right 
in  their  thoughts,  meditations,  plans,  purposes,  and 
motives.  Their  chief  motives  are  to  glorify  God  and 
do  good.  They  can  well  remember  when  their 
motives  were  not  good.  But  now  they  are.  How 
true  this  was  of  our  dear  departed  Brother  Sherman. 
His  aims  and  motives,  from  a  little  boy,  were  to 
glorify  God  and  build  up  his  cause. 

2.  You  ma)-  know  the  righteous,  for  they  are  right 
at  heart,  right  in  their  affections.  They  love  God 
supremely,  and  try  to  love  their  neighbors  as  them- 
selves.    How  true  this  was  of  our  dear  brother! 

3.  You  may  know  the  righteous,  for  they  are  right 
in  the  words  which  drop  from  their  lips.  They  are 
like  honey  and  the  honeycomb.  Oh,  what  sweet, 
heavenly  words  have  dropped  from  our  beloved 
brother's  lips  in  this  chapel,  ever  since  it  was  built! 
Oh,  how  fresh  in  our  memory  are  the  heavenly  ex- 
hortations in  praise,  prayer,  and  conference  meet- 
ings, when  his  whole  soul  was  drawn  out  in  agonies 
for  the  conversion  of  sinners.  They  even  now  seem 
to  ring  in  our  ears.  While  memory  remains,  they 
will  remain. 


1 1 


4.  You  may  know  the  righteous,  for  they  are  right 
in  their  doings.  The  deeds  of  their  hands  are  hke 
their  words — useful,  beneficial.  Like  their  Master, 
thev  2fo  about  doinor  crood.  How  true  this  was  of 
Brother  Sherman.  See  the  work  of  his  hands  in 
this  beautiful  house  of  worship. 

5.  You  may  know  the  righteous,  for  they  are  right 
in  their  views  of  the  atonement ;  of  the  plan  of  salva- 
tion ;  of  the  redemptive  scheme  of  mercy  through 
the  Crucified.  You  remember,  my  hearers,  how 
clear  our  dear  brother's  views  were  of  the  way  of 
life  and  salvation.  Very  seldom  do  we  find  even 
ministers  who  can  grasp  these  weighty  truths  better 
than  Brother  Sherman  did,  or  who  could  expound 
and  explain  better  than  he  could  ! 

6.  You  may  know  the  righteous,  for  they  are  right 
on  the  great  benevolent  institutions  of  the  day, 
such  as  missions,  temperance,  Sabbath-schools,  and 
anti-slavery.  On  these  institutions,  without  an  ex- 
ception, our  esteemed  and  dearly  beloved  brother, 
from  a  boy,  took  a  right  stand.  He  embraced  them, 
brought  them  home  to  his  bosom,  and  worked  for 
them  with  an  undying  zeal.  For  all  of  them  his 
ardor  never  waned.  When  the  State  had  the  pro- 
iiibitory  law.  he  thought  we  now  had  a  panacea  for 
the  horrible  ills  of  intemperance.  We  could  now 
demolish  the  Qficrantic  crime  of  crimes,  and  destrov 
the  sum  of  all  villainies.  And  oh,  how  grieved  he 
was  when  the  prohibitory  law  was  abolished.  His 
heart  seemed  to  sink  within  him. 

And  he  was  an  earnest  friend  and  zealous  worker 


114 

\n  Sabbath-scliools.  Wlicn  he  lived  in  Woon- 
socket,  and  was  proprietor  and  editor  of  T/ic  U'oon- 
sockei  /\ilrioLhii  found  time  to  _f(0  out  into  the  lanes 
and  l)\\va\s  and  collect  toi^ether  the  ragged,  dirt)', 
"filthy,  vicious  children  in  the  school-house,  taught 
them  the  way  of  life  and  salvation,  and  led  them  to 
''  the  lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world." 

And  how  he  rejoiced  when  the  chains  fell  off 
from  the  millions  of  slaves  in  our  otherwise  happy 
land  !  And  when  the  contrabands  came  to  East 
'Greenwich,  he  took  some  twelve  or  fifteen  of  them 
into  his  house,  taught  them  to  love  and  serve  God, 
and.  that  they  might  feel  more  at  home,  purchased 
the  lot  on  which  this  beautiful  chapel  stands,  built  the 
chapel,  put  in  a  large  organ  for  the  public  services, 
a  small  one  for  social  meetings  and  the  Sabbath- 
school,  at  the  cost  of  several  thousand  dollars.  And 
for  some  eight  or  ten  years  he  has  seen  the  salvation 
of  God  in  the  conversion  of  sinners. 

11.  It  remains  to  speak  of  the  destiny  of  the  right- 
eous. P'or  they  shall  be  in  everlasting  remembrance. 
We  observe,  then  : 

I.  To  be  in  everlasting  remembrance  is  to  be 
eternally  in  the  mind  of  God  Almighty.  As  He  is 
oninipresent  and  omniscient,  it  follows  that  He  will 
hold  the  righteous  eternally  in  llis  meinor)-.  It  is 
impossible  that  they  should,  for  one  moment,  be  for- 
ofotten.  "  Can  a  woman  foro^et  her  suckinor  child  ? 
Yea,  she  may  forget,  yet  will  I  not  forget."  The 
righteous  will  be  graven  upon  the  palms  of  His  hands. 


1 1 


2.  To  be  in  everlasting  remembrance  is  to  be 
eternally  in  God's  great  heart  of  affections.  On  the 
righteous  He  pours  a  flood  of  His  love.  Never,  no, 
never,  can  He  cease  to  love  them.  Nothing  can 
withdraw  His  affections  from  them.  "  For  I  am  per- 
suaded that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor 
principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any 
other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  them  from 
the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  our 
Lord." 

3.  To  be  in  everlasting  remembrance  is  to  be 
eternally  in  God's  presence.  What  particular  part 
of  the  universe  He  will  furnish  for  a  home  v/e  are  not 
informed.  The  locality  of  hca\en,  the  paradise  of 
God,  the  mansions  of  rest,  is  not  given  us  in  the 
sacred  Scrijitures.  They  tell  us  there  are  such 
places,  and  for  whom  they  are  prepared,  viz..  saints 
and  anofels,  and  that  the  riofhteous  shall  dwell  in 
them  for  ever  and  ever. 

4.  To  be  in  everlasting  remembrance  is  to  be 
eternally  supported  by  him.  The  sacred  books 
of  the  Bible  only  hint  at  what  may  be  needed  for 
their  support.  John,  the  Revelator,  sa)s  :  "And  he 
showed  me  a  pure  river  of  water  of  life,  clear  as 
crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of  God,  and  of 
the  Lamb.  In  the  midst  of  the  street  of  it,  and  on 
either  side  of  the  river,  was  there  the  tree  of  life, 
which  bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  and  yielded  her 
fruit  every  month."  And  in  another  chapter  he 
writes  :   "  And  white   robes   were  given   unto  every 


ii6 


one  of  thcin."       This   is  fiLiiiralivc  lang'uao-e,  but  Iil-- 
ures  have  a  deep  and   iiii|)ressi\('  meaning-. 

5.  To  be  in  everlastinof  remembrance  is  to  be 
eternally  protected  by  God.  Just  what  protection  is 
needed  for  the  righteous  does  not  readily  appear. 
It  cannot,  for  a  moment,  be  supposed  that  in  the 
future  world  dangers  beset  our  paths,  or  that  any 
evils  will  overtake  the  righteous.  They  are  safe, 
protected  by  His  Almight)-  power.  His  omnijjotent 
hand  will  hold  them  up. 

6.  To  be  in  everlasting  remembrance  is  to  be, 
perhaps,  nearer  Christ's  throne  eternally  than  any  or 
all  the  holy  angels  of  heaven.  These  angels  never 
sinned,  never  needed  the  pardoning  mercy  of  a 
crucified  Redeemer.  St.  Paul  writes  in  his  first  epis- 
tle to  the  Corinthians  :  ''  Know  ye  not  that  we  shall 
judge  angels,"  which  seems  to  imply  we  shall  in 
some  sense  be  superior  to  the  holy  angels  of  heaven. 
Hence  the  poet  sings  : 

"  Earth  has  a  joy  unknown  in  heaven — 
The  newborn  peace  of  sin  forgiven  ! 
Tears  of  such  pure  and  sweet  delight, 
Ye  angels  !   never  dimmed  your  sight." 

7.  To  be  in  everlasting  remembrance  is  to  be 
eternally  in  the  best  society  of  the  universe  of  God. 
The  archangel  Michael,  Gabriel,  all  the  hoh-  angels, 
the  ch(M-ubim  and  the  seraphim,  together  with  all  the 
redeemed,  from  Abel  down  the  long  stream  of  time, 
and  all  the  ransomed  who  now  live,  or  ever  will 
live,  will  compose  that  hap}))',  hoi)-,  glorified  society. 
There,  oh,  there  will  be  the  righteous.     There,  oh, 


I  [ 


there  is  our  dearly  beloved  Brother  Sherman.  Could 
the  curtain  be  removed,  and  we  look  in,  what  raptur- 
ous delight  would  thrill  our  souls  !  What  overpow- 
ering joy  would  fill  our  minds !  For  aught  I  know, 
we  should  like  to  hasten  our  flight  to  join  that  holy, 
happy  throng.  Well,  my  dear  hearers,  we  ma}-,  if 
righteous,  be  nearer  that  glorious  society  than  we 
are  aware.  There  may  be  but  a  step  between  us 
and  death.  The  angel  may  already  be  summoned  to 
cut  the  brittle  thread  of  life.  Oh,  may  we  see  to  it 
that  we  are  ready,  all  ready,  for  the  summons. 

8.  Finally,  to  be  in  everlasting  remembrance  is  to 
be  eternally  in  happiness,  in  bliss.  Blissfulness  will 
thrill  every  faculty  of  the  mind,  the  intellect,  the  sen- 
sibilities, and  the  will.  The  glorified  body,  after  the 
morning  of  the  resurrection,  will  also  be  full  of  hap- 
piness. Such  joy,  such  delight,  is  unknown  on  earth. 
Our  earthly  bodies  are  often  full  of  death,  sorrow, 
misery,  pain.  These,  in  the  new  body,  will  never  be 
known.  But  unspeakable  felicity  will  take  posses- 
sion of  our  entire  being.  In  this  life  it  is  difficult 
for  our  minds  to  grasp  the  blessedness  of  heaven. 
But  as  it  is  written  :  "  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear 
heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man 
the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  tluit 
love  him." 

In  review,  what  lessons  do  we  learn  ? 

1.  We  may  know  if  we  are  righteous.      Have  we 
their  character?     Are  we  doing  their  works? 

2.  We  may  know  if  we  are  not  righteous.  We 
shall  not  have  their  character,  nor  do  their  works. 


ii8 


3.  We  see,  although  faintly,  the  glorious,  un- 
speakable destiny  of  the  righteous.  Pen  cannot 
describe  it,  nor  pencil  throw  it  on  the  canvas.  With 
our  lively  imagination  we  can  see  Brother  Sherman 
in  the  Holy  City,  walking  its  streets  with  a  crown 
of  glory  on  his  head  studded  with  tiazzling  gems> 
sparkling  like  the  sun's  brilliant  rays,  clothed  with 
the  celestial  robe  of  riMiteousness,  more  cflorious 
than  language  can  picture,  chanting  to  his  infinite 
Redeemer  heavenly  pseans,  loud  hallelujahs,  sweet 
doxoloo^ies,  with  saints  and  ancjels  rnakino-  the  arches 
of  heaven  rinof-  Oh!  how  soon,  how  soon,  if  rio-hte- 
ous,  we  shall  join  him,  and  then! 


fRDSS     MOTICES 


]\^nicei^    of    the    ftQ^^. 

EFORE  and  after  Mr.  Sherman  died,  many 
references  to  him  appeared  in  the  New 
England  papers.  As  indicating  the  im- 
pression which  he  made  upon  those  outside  of  his 
own  immediate  circle  of  relatives  and  friends,  we 
make  below  a  few  selections. 

[From  T/ie  Advi'rtiser,  Providence,  R.  I.,  after  his  retirement  from 
the  Pendulum.  \ 

It  is  with  very  melancholy  emotions  of  heart 
that  we  sit  down  to  write  a  paragraph  or  two  record- 
ing the  retirement  of  William  N.  Sherman,  Esq., 
from  the  proprietorship  and  management  of  The 
Rhode  Island  Pcjidu/um,  published  at  East  Green- 
wich for  so  long  a  period,  and  so  well  known  as  a 
very  ably  conducted  and  most  respectable  and  excel- 
lent family  newspaper.  The  Pendu/nvi  was  originally 
started  by  Mr.  Sherman  about  twenty-three  years 
ago,  and  has  been  owned  and  steadily  conducted  by 
him  ever  since,  with  very  good  success.  77/<'  JVoofi- 
socket  Patriot  was  also  originally  started  by  Mr. 
Sherman,  who  conducted  it  for  about  nine  years, 
when  he  was  afflicted  with  a  long  period  of  sickness 
and  disposed  of  that  paper  to  its  present  publisher. 
His  subsequent  residence  in  East  (ireenwich  })r()\  cd 
every  way  healthful  to  him,  and  he  has  long  been 
13 


1  2 


held  in  the  lii<^-liest  estimation  there  as  a  man  of  ex- 
cellent general  intelligence,  fine  business  capacity, 
irreproachable  character  and  large-hearted  Christian 
benevolence. 

Mr.  Sherman's  first  enterprise  as  an  editor  and 
proprietor  was  the  publication  of  ^hc  Ladies  j\Iir- 
ror,  which  lie  started  at  Southbridge,  Mass.,  about 
the  year  1S31  ;  and  we  are  happy  to  be  able  to  state 
that  such  has  ever  been  his  prudence,  judicious  man- 
agement, persevering  industry  and  honorable  con- 
duct, that  he  now  retires  from  business  not  only 
''  with  all  his  blushing  honors  thick  upon  him,"  but 
also  with  a  very  handsome  amount  of  "real  and  per- 
sonal.'' If  we  had  his  note  at  six  per  cent,  for  fifty, 
seventy-five  or  a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  we  should 
feel  that  we  were   "  very  well  fixed." 

We  have  said  that  it  made  us  feel  sad  to  record 
the  retirement  of  Mr.  Sherman  from  The  Penduhini, 
and  the  reason  is  that  we  have  been  in  the  habit,  for 
a  long  time,  of  meeting  him  often,  every  week,  in 
the  office  of  The  Gefieral  Advertiser,  and  have 
learned  to  "  like  his  ways,"  as  the  saying  is.  He  has 
always  proved  to  be  a  most  affable  gentleman  as  well 
as  a  most  diliofent  and  methodical  business  man. 

(From  The  Advertiser  and  Gazette  of  I'rovidence,  after  his  death.) 

A  good  man — a  thoroughly  upright,  intelligent, 
respected,  successful  business  man,  and  a  consistent 
Christian  man — has  departed,  and  Rhode  Island  has 
lost  another  of  her  excellent  citizens.  William  N. 
Sherman,  one  of  the  old  master-printers  of  the  State, 


I  2^ 


the  original  proprietor  of  The  Woonsockct  Patriot, 
and  subsequently  of  The  East  Greenwich  Pendulum, 
died  on  the  2d  instant,  in  Rudand.  Vt.,  at  the  ripe 
age  of  seventy-three. 

In  this  office — the  old  office  of  A.  Crawford  Greene 
&  Son — Mr.  Sherman  was  familiarly  known  as  "  Un- 
cle William,"  he  being  the  uncle  of  the  late  lamented 
senior  partner.  But  so  much  w^as  he  liked  by  all 
the  old  employees,  who  had  been  here  for  so  many 
years,  that  they  all  claimed  him  as  uncle.  His 
last  paper,  The  Rhode  Island  Pendulum,  he  had 
printed  in  this  office  up  to  the  time  when  he  sold  it 
to  its  present  proprietor ;  and  as  we  were  accus- 
tomed to  seeing  him  more  or  less  every  week  for  a 
long  period,  we  learned  to  esteem  him  very  highly. 
He  was  always  very  pleasant  and  sociable  and  often 
quite  jocular  ;  and  although  we  had  not,  of  late, 
seen  much  of  him.  since  he  retired  from  business, 
we  still  find  it  hard  to  realize  that  he  has  gone  for  all 
time. 

He  was  a  well-informed,  sagacious  man,  who  had 
been  about  our  country  considerably,  and  always 
had  much  to  say  that  was  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive. He  was  a  man  of  high  and  firm  moral  and  re- 
ligious principles,  and  no  one  was  ever  more  honor- 
able in  the  fulfillment  of  all  obligations.  Being  a 
practical  and  good  printer,  he  liked  to  work  over  his 
paper,  and  did  more  or  less,  every  week,  in  the  way 
of  what  is  technically  called  "  making-up."  Rather 
unexpectedly  to  us,  however,  he  finally  sold  out  Tlic 
Rhode    Island   Pendulum  and  retired — as.    indeed, 


124 

he  might  well  have  done  long  before,  for  he  had 
accumulated  a  decidedly  handsome  property. 

Although  Mr.  Sherman  was  entirely  successful 
with  TJic  Patriot  at  Woonsocket,  he  told  us  once  that 
he  never  was  well  there.  Something- about  the  climate 
of  the  place  did  not  seem  to  agree  with  him  ;  and 
after  a  severe  fit  of  sickness  he  decided  to  go  to 
East  Greenwich.  Here,  for  many  years,  he  enjoyed 
good  health,  and  here,  we  may  say,  he  was  greatly 
esteemed  and  respected.  He  was  a  worthy  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  Church  there,  and  l)uilt,  at  his  own 
cost,  what  is  known  as  the  Marlboro  Chapel. 
Whether  this  was  given  by  him,  in  his  lifetime,  or 
whether  it  has  been  willed,  to  any  society,  we  are 
unable  to  say.  Mr.  Sherman  leaves  a  widow  and  a 
married  daughter,  an  only  child  ;  and,  as  we  learn, 
he  possessed  real  and  personal  estate  to  a  very  con- 
siderable amount. 

(From  TJie  Boston  G/ol>e.) 

He  was  a  journalist  of  conservative  views  and  was 
ever  the  advocate  of  all  that  tended  to  the  improve- 
ment of  those  around  him  and  the  furtherance  of  the 
principles  of  justice,  humanity  and  benevolence.  A 
man  of  benevolent  and  religious  impulses,  he  sought 
the  crood  of  his  fellow  man  in  acts  of  useful  benev- 
olence.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Free 
Library  in  1867,  and,  associated  with  Governor 
Green,  was  one  of  its  liberal  benefactors,  and  con- 
tributed to  the  fund  for  the  erection  of  a  handsome 
library  building.     Among   his  last  public  acts  was  a 


125 


contribution  of  one  hundred  volumes  to  its  already 
large  collection.  Honoring  religion  in  all  its  forms, 
he  had  his  own  peculiar  ideas  upon  creeds  and 
tenets, — tending  to  liberality  of  religious  opinion. 
In  accordance  with  his  views  and  the  promptings  of 
a  benevolent  nature  the  Marlboro  Street  Chapel  of 
East  Greenwich  was  erected  in  1872  at  the  sole  ex- 
pense of  Mr.  Sherman  at  a  cost  of  $5, 000.  In  1874 
an  Independent  Baptist  Church  was  organized  ot 
open  communion.  The  pulpit  has  been  regularly 
supplied  by  various  ministers  of  evangelical  denom- 
ination, and  the  Sunday-school  and  library  have 
been  supported  almost  entirely  by  Mr.  Sherman. 
The  sittings  are  free,  and  at  this  chapel  all  can  wor- 
ship whenever  they  choose  free  of  expense,  in  all 
accordance  with  the  invitation  given  at  its  dedica- 
tion :  "Whosoever  will  may  come." 

He  was  a  member  of  Harmony  Lodge  of  Odd 
Fellows,  and  for  several  years  a  prominent  member 
of  the  order  in  Rhode  Island.  Thus  closes  a  useful 
life  full  of  good  deeds,  and  an  industry  that  brought 
to  him  comfort  and  ease  in  the  sunset  of  life,  and 
left  to  the  generations  that  shall  follow  a  wholesome 
example. 

(From  The  Rhode  Island  Pciidulutii.) 

Mr.  Sherman  was  a  man  of  strong  prejudices, 
but  possessed  sterling  traits  of  character.  He  was 
a  man  of  marked  individuality,  condemning  what 
he  conceived  to  be  wrong.  He  became  united  with 
the    Baptist  Church    at  Woonsocket    in    1838,  but 


126 


previously  had  induced  a  goodly  number  of  children 
of  the  villaofe  who  seemed  to  need  moral  and  relitr- 
ious  instruction  to  assemble  in  the  old  Red  School- 
house,  where  he  conducted  a  Sunday-school  that 
was  afterward  transferred  to  the  Baptist  Church. 
After  his  removal  to  East  Greenwich,  with  a  true 
missionary  spirit  he  incorporated  those  benevolent 
impulses  which  prompted  him,  about  the  year  1872, 
to  buy  a  notorious  rookery  at  the  corner  of  Long 
and  Marlboro  Streets  and  erect  on  the  spot  a  chapel 
where  there  has  been  preaching  since,  with  free 
seats,  a  flourishing  Sunday  school  being  connected 
with  it,  while  the  whole  has  been  mainly  sustained 
by  the  bounty  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

(From  The  Providence  Press.) 

He  was  the  liberal  patron  of  every  good  work 
in  East  Greenwich,  and  his  effort  to  lift  up  the  lower 
classes  of  society  in  that  place  deserve  the  most  un- 
qualified commendation.  That  these  might  have  a 
place  of  worship  where  they  would  feel  entirely  at 
home,  he  erected  the  Marlboro  Street  Chapel  at  his 
own  cost,  and  sustained  the  greater  part  of  the  ex- 
pense of  supplying  the  pulpit  for  many  years.  He 
was  kindly,  great-hearted,  and  the  friend  of  every- 
body who  deserved  friendship. 

(From  T/te  Providence  yournal.) 

William  N.  Sherman,  of  East  Greenwich,  died 
Thursday,  in  Rutland,  Vt.,  aged  seventy-three  years 
Mr.  Sherman  was  the  founder  of  77/r  IVoofisocket  Pa- 


127 

triot,  and  subsequently  started  The  Rhode  Island 
Pejiduluiu  which  he  conducted  for  many  years.  Mr. 
Sherman  was  a  plain,  upright,  conscientious  man, 
whose  daily  life  was  devoid  of  reproach,  and  whose 
labors  were  modestly,  but  earnestly  and  intelligently, 
devoted  to  the  elevation  and  improvement  of  his 
fellow  men. 

(From    TJic  Veniiotit  Baptist.') 

An  indefatigable  worker  for  God,  his  country, 
and  his  fellow  men. 

He  was  greatly  esteemed  and  respected.  He 
was  a  worthy  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and 
built,  at  his  own  cost,  what  is  known  as  the  Marl- 
boro Chapel.  Mr.  Sherman  leaves  a  widow  and  a 
married  daughter,  an  only  child  ;  and,  as  we  learn, 
he  possessed  real  and  personal  estate  to  a  very  con- 
siderable amount. 


DES,  fODMS  AND  ^YMNS. 


14 


WRITTEN    BY    WILLIAM    N.    SHERMAN,    ON    DIFFERENT 
OCCASIONS. 


Ode. 

Prepared  for  a  Fourth  of  July  Celebration  in  Southbridge, 
Mass.y   1832. 

All  hail  to  the  day  whose  triumph  was  bright  ! 
And  hail  to  fair  freedom,  emerging  to  light, 
Reflecting  the  brilliant  escutcheons  of  fame. 
From  darkness,  which  shrouded  America's  name. 

Its  lustre  has  circled  the  brow  of  the  brave, 
And  deck'd  with  green  laurels  the  patriot's  grave, 
Has  braided  its  garland  of  vict'ry  and  peace, 
And  lightened  the  footsteps  of  time  in  its  pace. 

With  songs  and  with  honors  let  us  now  entwine 
A  wreath  of  thanksgiving  for  gifts  so  divine  ; 
Let  hearts  bright  with  gladness  and  glory  rebound, 
Generations  to  come  shall  echo  the  sound. 

Proclaim  to  the  world  our  fifty-sixth  morn, 
Since  the  birth  of  our  freedom — our  new  world  was  born; 
We're  joyful,  we're  free,  Independence  still  claim, 
And  proud  of  our  country  we  boast  of  our  name. 

"United  we  stand,  divided  we  fall," 

'' E  Pluribus  Utinm"  America's  all — 
United  in  bonds  of  affection  and  peace. 
May  wisdom,  and  science,  and  virtue  increase. 


132 


Oh,  thus  be  it  ever,  and  triumph  long  wave, 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave  ; 
Preserve  us,  defend  us,  oh.  Power  Supreme, 
All  glory  and  honor  we  give  to  thy  name. 


Written  for  the  Same  Oecasion. 

Hail,  Freedom  !  long  with  us  abide — 
For  thee  our  fathers  lived  and  died — 
Thou  art  our  boasted  song  and  pride — 

Thou  art  our  glowing  fame. 
Years  have  fled  since  bold  hearts  high 
Beat  to  the  sound,  "  Our  Country  ;" 
Swore  that  they'd  live  free,  or  die, 

And  crush  the  oppressor's  name. 

That  proud  oath,  where  war-smoke  curled, 
They  redeemed,  and  then  unfurled 
Their  banner  to  the  western  world — 

"Union  and  Liberty." 
Banner  of  the  sainted  dead. 
Wave  in  triumph  o'er  their  bed 
Whom  thy  folds  to  vict'ry  led, 

To  immortality. 

Loud,  long  applaud  each  hero's  name. 
And  sing  their  deeds  of  deathless  fame, 
Their  struggle  with  oppression's  flame. 

Their  many  a  pain  and  toil  ! 
For  us  in  war-pomp,  proud  arrayed. 
They  boldly  fought,  they  bravely  bled — 
Their  sons  to  freedom  they  have  led, 

Upon  the  war-ground's  soil. 


133 

Then  let  Columbia's  sons  rejoice, 
Let  music  burst  from  every  voice, 
And  sound  the  p:lory  of  our  choice, 

Our  blest  America. 
Let  poor  old  England  cry  '■  Reform," 
We  care  not  for  the  impending  storm. 
We'll  fortify  in  every  form 

For  Liberty's  array. 


%-nm. 

Written  for  The  MoiitJily  Harvester,  1841. 

Ye  Stars  !    Ye  Stars  ! 

Ye  stars,  ye  stars,  ye  burning  stars — 

Ye  heavenly  hosts  of  light — 
Set  round  in  glorious  diadems 

For  heaven  and  earth's  delight. 
Say,  are  ye  the  tapers  round  the  throne 

That  shone  on  Bethlehem's  plain 
When  the  only  Son  of  God  was  born, 

And  angels  sang,   "Amen  !  " 

Yes  ;  there  ye  shine,  and  there  have  shone, 

E'en  since  creation's  birth  ; 
And  there  forever  still  may  shine, 

'Till  a  new  heaven  and  earth  ; 
And  when  old  things  are  passed  away, 

And  truth  and  error  sever. 
When  by  the  throne  of  your  own  God, 

The  saints  shall  shine  forever. 

O  blessed  stars  ! — since  time  began, 

Your  glory  beamed  as  bright  ; 
The  patriarchs  and  prophets  found 

In  ye  much  sweet  delight. 


'34 

The  same  our  fathers  looked  upon — 
Our  father's  fathers  praised — 

Are  the  very  stars  that  still  shine  on, 
Above  our  fathers'  graves. 

And  so  'twill  be  when  we  are  gone — 

Ye'll  twinkle  still  as  bright  ; 
And  morning  stars  together  sing, 

As  at  creation's  light. 
When  earth  and  heaven  dissolve  and  fly 

And  ye  shall  "  fall  "  away, 
The  stars  of  God's  eternity 

Shall  make  eternal  dav. 


Written  for  The  Monthly  Harvester,  1841, 
"  That  Fade th  Not  Away." 

Oh  1   who  would  always  live  on  earth 

Where  sorrows  ever  rise  ? 
Where  cloud  on  cloud  of  anguish  comes 

Across  our  brightest  skies  } 
Where  gnawing  cares  are  ever  fresh, 

And  pain  oft  fills  the  breast.^ 
Oh,  know  ye  not,  ye  earthly  ones, 

This  is  no  place  of  rest  ? 

Oh.  who  would  barter  gems  of  bliss, 

And  joys  that  never  tire. 
For  earth's  best  glories,  mutable. 

Which  bloom  but  to  expire.' 
Oh,  who  would  brave  life's  scathing  storms, 

Without  a  hope  in  heaven.' 
There  fadeth  not  away  that  hope. 

If  sinners  are  forgiven. 


135 


Then  seek  not  wealth  and  pleasure  here, 

Beneath  a  changeful  sky, 
Where  love  grows  cold,  and  friendships  ebb, 

And  bosom  friends  must  die  ; 
But  treasure  deep  within  the  heart, 

A  mansion  bright  and  fair, 
For  there  immutable,  unfading  bliss 

Is — there,  and  only  there. 


Oile. 

Prepared  for  the  Fourth  of  Jiily  Celebration  at  Wick  ford, 

1843. 

'Tis  Freedom's  natal  day — 

A  nation's  jubilee  ; — 
And  here  our  festival  we  pay, 

Sweet  Liberty,  to  thee  ! 

Let  tuneful  shouts  arise. 

From  every  heart  and  voice  ; 
Let  paeans  reach  the  upper  skies. 

And  echo  back,   "  Rejoice." 

Nor  king's  nor  tyrant's  power, 

Nor  monarch's  haughty  sway. 
Can  dim  the  glory  of  the  hour 

We  consecrate  to-day. 

The  king  upon  his  throne. 

Rules  with  oppression's  rod  ; 
But  we  no  king  or  sovereign  own. 

Save  the  Eternal  God. 

Let  tuneful  shouts  arise,   ' 

From  every  heart  and  voice  ; 
Let  pagans  reach  the  upper  skies, 

And  echo  back,   "  Rejoice." 


136 

Written  for  the  Same  Occasion, 

Eternal  God  !  to  thee  we  bend, 
Our  fathers'  God,  our  fathers'  friend  ; 
To  thee  our  grateful  voices  raise, 
In  humble  hope  and  solemn  praise. 

Thy  hand  sustained  each  bleeding  breast 

When  by  a  tyrant's  power  oppress'd, 

And  when  upon  the  batde-field, 

Thou  wert  their  strength,  and  thou  their  shield. 

Thy  mighty  arm  was  bared  to  save 
Our  fathers  from  oppression's  grave  ; 
And  we,  their  sons,  are  pledged  to  be 
Heirs  of  their  immortality. 

Departed  sires  !  we  sing  thy  fame  ! 
Thy  valor  and  thy  deathless  name, 
Thy  banner  waves  yet,  sainted  dead  ! 
In  triumph  o'er  your  silent  bed  1 

Forever  wave  that  banner  high 
Through  every  arch  of  Freedom's  sky ; 
And  ever  may  our  banner  be 
Inscribed  "To  God  and  Liberty  !  " 


Hvimi. 


Prepared  for  the  Centennial  Celebration  at  Greenwich, 
Fourth  of  July,  1876. 

Eternal  God  !  to  Thee  we  raise, 
In  humble  thanks  and  solemn  praise, 
Our  heart  and  voice  before  Thy  throne, 
For  blessings  of  a  century  gone. 


137 

When  our  young  nation  was  oppressed, 

Thine  arm  sustained  in  our  distress, 

And  when  upon  the  battle-field 

Thou  wert  our  strength,  and  Thou  our  shield. 

A  hundred  years  have  passed  away, 
And  on  this  hundredth  natal  day 
The  banner  of  our  sainted  dead 
Floats  in  rich  folds  above  our  head. 

Forever  wave  that  banner  high, 
Through  every  arch  of  Freedom's  sky, 
And  North  and  South,  and  East  and  West, 
In  Union  be  forever  blest. 

Then  God's  right  liaml  shall  shade  our  fears 
And  bless  the  coming  hundred  years  ; 
And  Freedom  from  her  mountain  height 
Proclaim  aloud  that  right  is  might. 

A  century  hence  !     We  shall  be  gone  ' 
But  generations  yet  unborn 
May  float  the  flag — may  voices  raise, 
And  sing  again  Centennial  praise. 


Written  for  a  SabluUh-sc/nwl  Concert. 
What  did  Jksus  Sav.^ 

Jesus  in  the  temple  with  the  doctors  wise, 
.•\sking  wondrous  questions,  giving  wise  replies  ; 
When  His  parents  found  him,  seeking  night  and  day 
Jesus  in  the  temple,  what  did  Jesus  say  .' 

Luke,  it.  49. 
15 


Jesus  at  the  Jordan,  coming  unio  John, 
That  He  miglu  baj)tize  him,  the  beloved  son  ; 
When  John  from  His  j)urpose  sought  to  turn  away, 
Jesus  at  the  Jordan,  wliat  did  Jesus  say  ? 

Matt.  ill.    15. 

At  the  well  of  Jacob,  resting  by  its  brink, 
Bidding  the  Samaritan  give  to  Him  to  drink, 
When  she  asked  of  Jesus  where  men  ought  to  pray. 
At  the  well  of  Jacob,  what  did  Jesus  say? 

John,  iv.   2\,  2 1. 

On  the  sea  of  Galilee,  when  the  storm  was  high, 
"Save  us.  Lord,  we  perish  !  "  His  disciples  cry, 
While  they  marvel  greatly  as  the  winds  obey, 
On  the  sea  of  Galilee,  what  did  Jesus  say  r 

all.  Tin.  26. 

Coming  into  Bethany,  meeting  full  of  gloom 
INIartha  mourning  Lazarus  lying  in  the  tomb  ; 
Of  the  resurrection  and  the  last  great  day. 
Coming  into  Bethany,  what  did  Jesus  say  ? 

yohn,  xi.  25,  26. 

Weeping  o'er  Jerusalem,  city  of  the  king, 
Whom  He  would  have  gathered  'neath  his  loving  wing, 
Mourning  for  her  children,  going  all  astray. 
Weeping  o'er  Jerusalem,  what  did  Jesus  say  ? 

A/at/,  xxiii.  37. 

At  the  Lord's  last  supper,  ere  He  went  to  die, 
In  that  upper  chamber,  as  the  end  drew  nigh. 
When  He  gently  told  them  He  must  go  away. 
At  the  sacramental  supper,  what  did  Jesus  say  ? 

jfohn^  xiv.  2. 

In  the  dark  Gethsemane  His  disciples  slept, 
While,  exceeding  sorrowful,  Jesus  prayed  and  wept, 
When  He  found  them  sleeping  who  should  watch  and  pray, 
In  the  dark  Gethsemane,  what  did  Jesus  say  ? 

Luke,  XX a.  45,  46. 


139 


From  the  Mount  of  Calvary,  on  the  cross  of  woe, 
Seeing  the  three  Marys,  they  who  loved  Him  so, 
To  the  dear  disciples  ere  he  went  awav, 
On  the  Mount  of  Calvary,  what  did  Jesus  say? 

yuhn,  xix.  26,  27. 

From  the  cross  of  sorrow,  ere  His  soul  went  up, 
As  He  drank  the  fullness  of  the  bitter  cup. 
Looking  on  His  enemies,  in  their  dark  array, 
On  the  cross  of  sorrow,  what  did  Jesus  say  ? 

lAike,  xxiii.  34. 

At  His  home  in  Heaven,  in  the  world  above, 
Where  the  little  children  learn  His  wondrous  love. 
And  their  sins  forgiven  on  that  blessed  day. 
At  His  home  in  Heaven,  what  will  fesus  say  ? 

A  faff.  XXV.  34. 


Written  for  a  Sabbath-school  Concert. 
Heaven. 

There'll  be  no  night  in  Heaven  ; 

In  that  blest  world  above 
Work  never  can  bring  wearines=, 

For  Heaven's  work  is  love. 

There  is  no  grief  in  Heaven, 

For  life  is  one  glad  day, 
And  tears  belong  to  former  things 

Which  long  have  passed  away. 

There'll  be  no  want  in  Heaven, 

Hunger  and  thirst  no  more 
Shall  reach  the  followers  of  the  Lamb 

On  that  celestial  shore. 


I40 

Tfiere'll  be  no  sin  in   Heaven  ; 

Behold  that  blessed  throng 
All  holy  in  their  spotless  robes  ! 

And  holy  is  their  song. 

There'll  be  no  death  in  Heaven, 
For  they  who  gain  that  shore 

Have  put  on  immortality 
And  thev  will  die  no  more. 


[The  followinor  lines  were  suggested  l^y  a  thrilling 
scene  which  recently  transpired  in  our  vicinity.  A 
man  was  run  over  by  a  train  of  cars  and  had  both 
legs  cut  off,  and  in  a  d)ing  state  was  taken  to  his 
home.  His  little  daughter,  who,  though  very  young, 
had  been  taught  in  the  Sunday-school  that  without 
repentance  and  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  there 
could  be  no  admission  into  heaven,  realized  the  situ- 
ation of  her  dear  father,  and  bursting  into  tears  en- 
treated him  to  pray.  It  was  too  late  for  audible 
prayer,  but  it  is  hoj^ed  that  he  found  peace  and 
Heaven.] 

Pray  !   Papa,  Pray  ! 

pRAV,  papa,  pray  !  oh,  quickly  pray  ! 

Heed,  heed  thy  little  daughter's  cry  ; 
Thine  end  is  near — pray,  papa,  pray  ! 

This  day,  dear  papa,  tnou  must  die. 

Pray,  papa,  pray  !  'tis  not  too  late  ; 

Oh,  haste  to  have  thy  sins  forgiven  ; 
Jesus  is  ready  to  receive, 

And  save  thv  soul  this  dav  in  Heaven. 


141 

Oh,  Jesus  !  love  my  papa  dear, 
And  gently  wash  his  sins  away ; 

Oh,  fit  him  for  a  heavenly  home 

Where  we  may  meet — pray,  papa,  pray  ! 

A  moment  more — the  spirit  fled, 
And  bitter  silence  reigned  that  day  ; 

The  child  still  lingered  near  the  dead, 
And  asked  in  vain — Did  papa  pray  ? 


UC SOUTHERN R 


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